Gubernatorial Candidate Benson Proposes Changes to Minnesota’s Substitute Teacher Licensure

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Many Minnesota schools are struggling to find substitute teachers.

State Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, on Friday posted on her campaign website her proposed changes to substitute teacher license regulations, which she claims would increase the pool of short-call substitute teachers and help schools stay open.

Currently, substitute teachers in Minnesota must have a bachelor’s degree (or U.S equivalent as verified by a foreign evaluation) in any field; be enrolled in a teacher preparation program; have completed student teaching, or, for candidates in career and technical education (CTE) fields, have professional certification, associate’s degree, or at least five years of relevant work experience in the CTE field, according to the state application. If they meet those qualifications, they can teach up to 15 consecutive days per teaching assignment. Their license is valid for three years. Currently tiered licensure teachers can use their teaching license.

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Several Straw Polls Inconclusive Regarding Minnesota Republican Gubernatorial Candidate

Several recently conducted straw polls regarding a Republican gubernatorial candidate for the 2022 election have been inconclusive. One poll, conducted by delegates for the party, had State Senator Paul Gazelka (R-East Gull Lake) in the lead. Another poll conducted by the Minnesota Family Council after a gubernatorial debate, favored business owner and doctor, Dr. Neil Shah.

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Fifth Republican Candidate Announces Bid for 2022 Minnesota Gubernatorial

A fifth Republican candidate has announced their bid for the 2022 gubernatorial race. State Senator Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) announced on Wednesday that she will be running for Minnesota governor in 2022. Benson made the announcement from Ham Lake, Minnesota, saying that she is running because of values that have been instilled in her since she was a child

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Bill Aims to Ban Minnesota Vaccine Passports

Senator Michelle Benson

As Minnesota returns to a semblance of normalcy with an increasing number of injected COVID-19 vaccines, one Republican aims to ban “vaccine passports.”

 SF 1589 aims to ban forced COVID-19 vaccinations, forced digital contact tracing, and required proof of COVID-19 vaccination before entering a government business.

“Your personal health information should not be made public. I stand against the special interests that want your private health information,” Senate Health Committee Chair Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, posted on Facebook.

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Minnesota State Senators Say Walz ‘Must’ Announce Plan to End Business Closures

Minnesota Sens. Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, and Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz asking him to reopen bars and restaurants.

In their letter, the two senators urge Gov. Walz to reopen bars, restaurants, and other “vital economic engines” by January 11. The letter also asks Walz to let businesses know of his plan by Jan. 4 so they have time to prepare.

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Minnesota’s $6.9 Million COVID Morgue Converted into Storage Facility, Media Barred from Entering

Gov. Tim Walz’s administration purchased a warehouse for $6.9 million in May to be used for the “temporary storage of human remains,” but the facility was recently converted into a storage space for vaccines and other medical supplies.

The facility was intended to serve as “a building where we can properly handle with dignity and respect and safety the bodies of Minnesotans who may fall victim to the coronavirus,” Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Joe Kelly said at the time of the purchase.

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Committee Reviewing 1,043-Page Bill Raises Issue Over Minnesota’s Omnibus Process

  With the May 20 end of session looming, Minnesota lawmakers remain far apart on reaching a deal on the next state budget. The House and Senate each passed their own spending plans, and a conference committee began meeting late last week to hash out differences over a 1,043 page House Omnibus bill that increases spending on health and human services and has drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle. Budget talks broke off late Monday. The Senate version of the bill is significantly shorter, and while it calls for no increased taxes and focuses on reform measures, it still spends $1.6 billion more than the current budget, which ends June 30. Omnibus bills involve legislation that contain more than one substantive issue, or several minor issues combined as one bill. When criticized over the length of the omnibus bill, House Speaker Melissa Hortman said, “I fought hard in private negotiations with Sen. [Paul] Gazelka for us to have an education policy bill, an environment policy bill, a health policy bill, an elections policy bill, an energy policy bill. And he prefers that we put those things in the larger public bills.” Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, said there is…

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Abortion Fanatics Rally Against Minnesota’s ‘Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act’

Minnesota State Sen. Michelle Benson’s (R-Ham Lake) bill to protect unborn children capable of feeling pain from abortions received its first hearing Thursday, but Planned Parenthood and its allied activists in the state are doing everything they can to kill the bill. Senate File (SF) 1609 was introduced February 21 and currently has four Republican cosponsors, including Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) and Sen. Karin Housley (R-St. Mary’s Point). The bill would prohibit abortions in the state at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy, which is generally considered to be when an unborn child can feel pain. “By eight weeks after fertilization, an unborn child reacts to touch. After 20 weeks, an unborn child reacts to stimuli that would be recognized as painful if applied to an adult human, for example by recoiling,” SF 1609 states. It then challenges the view of some medical experts that an “unborn child is incapable of experiencing pain until a point later in pregnancy than 20 weeks.” This view, according to the bill, “rests on the assumption that the ability to experience pain depends on the cerebral cortex and requires nerve connections between the thalamus and the cortex.” “However, recent medical research and…

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Minnesota DHS Provided Medicaid Benefits to Out-of-State and Incarcerated Individuals, Report Finds

A new report issued last week by the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor found that the Department of Human Services (DHS) provided Medical Assistance (MA), or Medicaid, benefits to ineligible residents. While the report concluded that the DHS “generally complied” with eligibility requirements, there were numerous instances in which enrollees failed to report “changes in circumstances” that “likely would have affected their eligibility.” For instance, the audit found that “24 enrollees did not timely notify their county agency that they had permanently moved out of state and that MA coverage should have been terminated.” Additionally, DHS failed to “identify” that one enrollee was “later incarcerated,” and paid $6,308 in “medical payments to a managed care organization while this enrollee was incarcerated.” The state of Minnesota paid nearly $1.8 billion for health insurance coverage for an estimated 297,000 enrollees in 2017, but last week’s audit found that 15 percent of recipients were ineligible because they exceeded income limits. “For 15 of 100 sample cases (15 percent), the enrollee’s actual income for calendar year 2017 exceeded their income reported to the county agency and the household income limit set in federal law. Thus, these individuals would not have met income eligibility…

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