Legislature Approves Minnesota Child Victims Act

The bill was sponsored by District 46 legislators.

The Minnesota Child Victims Act sponsored by District 46 legislators is just a signature away from becoming law. The Senate approved the conference committee report on the bill 57-0 Friday, and the House signed off on the amended bill 123-3 the same day. The act now only awaits Gov. Mark Dayton’s approval. The Minnesota State Supreme Court has interpreted existing state law to mean that the statute of limitations on civil sexual abuse lawsuits closes by the time the plaintiff turns 24 years old. The Child Victims Act would remove the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits stemming from sexual abuse going forward. Victims would also be able to sue schools, churches or any other group that they accuse of failing to protect them. Sen. Ron …

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House Passes Winkler's Minimum Wage Bill

The bill passed on a 68-62 vote.

The state House on Friday passed a bill authored by Golden Valley and St. Louis Park Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-District 46A) that would increase the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by August 2015 and provide for automatic inflationary increases in the future. “It’s important that Minnesota finally take a step forward on the minimum wage,” Winkler said Friday morning before the vote. “We are one of six states that have a minimum wage less than the federal minimum wage. It’s not been raised since 2005. And more and more, today’s economy is producing worse jobs for low-wage workers.” Business groups counter that a higher minimum wage would hurt employers. The state’s current minimum wage is $6.25. The federal minimum wage, which applies to most …

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Winkler Proposes New Group To Ease School-to-Work Transition

The ‘Minnesota Learning Commons Consortium’ would serve all schools and students in Minnesota.

St. Louis Park and Golden Valley Rep. Ryan Winkler has introduced legislation that would create an online portfolio system for K-12 and college students that is being billed as “the résumé of the future,” a news release announced Tuesday. The bill, which was introduced by Woodbury Sen. Susan Kent in the Senate, would establish a “Minnesota Learning Commons Consortium” that would combine existing technologies and programs to help students move from school to the workforce and help employers find the workers they need. “In Minnesota, we’re fortunately ahead of the curve and can leverage award-winning solutions like eFolioMinnesota and GPS LifePlan to address these goals,” the release quoted Winkler. “And because of the scalability of …

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Winkler Rejects Proposal To Exempt Tipped Employees from Minimum Wage Hike

The Minnesota Restaurant Association wants tipped employees to remain at the federal minimum wage.

Winkler Rejects Proposal To Exempt Tipped Employees from Minimum Wage Hike

The Minnesota Restaurant Association wants tipped employees to remain at the federal minimum wage.

Despite pushback from restaurants, District 46A Rep. Ryan Winkler isn’t backing down from his efforts to boost the state’s minimum wage, including for tipped employees. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Restaurant Association released results of a survey that it said predicted the consequences of Winkler’s proposal nearly $10 over the next two years. The survey found: J.J. Haywood, CEO of Pizza Lucé and president of the association, argued that tipped employees should remain at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 since the industry’s tipped employees average $18 an hour statewide and $22 an hour in the metro, Minnesota Public Radio reported. Winkler, who represents Golden Valley and St. Louis Park, dismissed the association’s proposal as a “tip …

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DFL Sweeps District 46 Seats

Incumbents Latz, Winkler and Simon all won their re-election races.

District 46 incumbents will hold on to their seats for another term. Sen. Ron Latz and Reps. Ryan Winkler and Steve Simon, who are all members of the DFL, easily toppled their Republican challengers in Tuesday’s election. Latz defeated Paul Scofield 67 percent to 33 percent. Winkler beat John Swanson in the House District 46A race 66 percent to 34 percent. In the District 46B race, Simon took 70 percent of the vote compared to David Arvidson's 30 percent. Said Latz: “I’m very excited to be able to go back to the Senate and continue working on the issues and community values." The results were not a surprise. The Senate district leans toward the DFL by a whopping 32 points, according to MinnPost. Democrats have an even larger 36-point …

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AUDIO: District 46 Candidates Discuss Education (Part III)

The candidates discuss intelligent design, school boundary changes and why they deserve your vote.

On Monday, candidates who represent districts within Hopkins Public Schools boundaries gathered for a forum hosted by the school district’s Legislative Action Coalition. Those present included candidates for District 46, which covers the Patch towns of Hopkins, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park. The event offered in-depth discussion on education issues—as well as the candidates’ individual philosophies on governance. Patch is publishing segments of the forum so voters have the information they need on the candidates. Listen to the audio above then check back to hear the candidate’s thoughts on the following issues: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

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AUDIO: District 46 Candidates Discuss Education (Part II)

The candidates discuss early childhood education, special education, the achievement gap and retiree volunteers.

On Monday, candidates who represent districts within Hopkins Public Schools boundaries gathered for a forum hosted by the school district’s Legislative Action Coalition. Those present included candidates for District 46, which covers the Patch towns of Hopkins, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park. The event offered in-depth discussion on education issues—as well as the candidates’ individual philosophies on governance. Over the next few days, Patch will publish segments of the forum so voters have the information they need on the candidates. Listen to the audio above then check back to hear the candidate’s thoughts on the following issues: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

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AUDIO: District 46 Candidates Discuss Education (Part I)

Listen to remarks from a candidate forum on school issues that took place Monday.

On Monday, candidates who represent districts within Hopkins Public Schools boundaries gathered for a forum hosted by the school district’s Legislative Action Coalition. Those present included candidates for District 46, which covers the Patch towns of Hopkins, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park. The event offered in-depth discussion on education issues—as well as the candidates’ individual philosophies on governance. Over the next few days, Patch will publish segments of the forum so voters have the information they need on the candidates. Listen to the audio above then check back to hear the candidate’s thoughts on the following issues: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday   Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily …

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