@Minnesota: Making children’s lives actually better

[Pom]

www.mprnews.org/story/2023/03/17/gov-signs-universal-school-meals-bill-into-law

[StrawberryBlondie]

We also protected the right to receive gender-affirming care earlier this month.

I really liked this quote from the governor:
"We want every Minnesotan to grow up feeling safe, valued, protected, celebrated, and free to exist as their authentic versions of themselves ... Protecting and supporting access to gender affirming health care is essential to being a welcoming and supportive state."

[Saudade]

I’ve never been so glad to be back in MN as I have these last few weeks, even despite record amounts of snow 😝

[Pom]

Mar 18, 2023 9:08:48 GMT -5 Saudade said:

I’ve never been so glad to be back in MN as I have these last few weeks, even despite record amounts of snow 😝

I feel the exact same way about Michigan, even as we are watching it snow like crazy right now.

[breezy8407]

Both things made me very happy despite it being 11 degrees right now.

[AJL]

I saw this the other day and was so excited! 

DH and I have been talking about leaving Texas for awhile now. We live in Austin which tends to be one of the more liberal major cities but we're hamstrung by our radically conservative governor and legislature. The twin cities is on our short list of possible places to move to. 

[Velar Fricative]

This is quite the juxtaposition. I still can’t believe Huckabee Sanders is an actual governor of a state.

[estrellita]

People always ask how I can live here. Other than family, THIS is why. I've been seeing this all over and I love it 😍

[dontlook]

So proud of our governor!

[StrawberryBlondie]

Mar 18, 2023 12:08:50 GMT -5 AJL said:

I saw this the other day and was so excited! 

DH and I have been talking about leaving Texas for awhile now. We live in Austin which tends to be one of the more liberal major cities but we're hamstrung by our radically conservative governor and legislature. The twin cities is on our short list of possible places to move to. 

It's a genuinely great place to live.

[penguingineer]

That picture of Sanders is actually signing the LEARNS act. Don't get me wrong, both are awful laws, but wanted to be correct.

Sorry, I live in Arkansas and my daughter is in public school. It's about to get really bad here (worse than before) with the vouchers taking money from public school districts and an unfunded minimum $50k teacher salary mandate. Meanwhile, the majority of elementary schools in our district are Title I meaning that 40%+ qualify for free/reduced lunch. My daughter's school did a food drive before winter break so that kids could have food to eat for two weeks. But please, let's direct money away from schools.

LEARNS Act also: requires all public school graduates to have 75 hours of community service (forced free labor) and holds students back in 3rd grade if they're not reading at a 3rd grade level.

Sorry for the rant.

[katyintx]

Mar 18, 2023 12:08:50 GMT -5 AJL said:

I saw this the other day and was so excited! 

DH and I have been talking about leaving Texas for awhile now. We live in Austin which tends to be one of the more liberal major cities but we're hamstrung by our radically conservative governor and legislature. The twin cities is on our short list of possible places to move to. 

Three years ago we moved from Houston to the TC area. Granted, if we lived in Austin we probably wouldn’t have pushed so hard to move, but I don’t regret it for a second. I miss the amazing food options of Houston, but I love having seasons, the summers are 😍, people are friendly, the city as a whole is fantastic, and our politics aren’t TX…. There’s even a ton of outdoor events in the winter so you don’t become a shut-in for months on end! 

I’m mainly just a lurker, but if you have any questions on making the move, I would love to help out! 

[msmerymac]

Mar 18, 2023 12:42:52 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

This is quite the juxtaposition. I still can’t believe Huckabee Sanders is an actual governor of a state.

I still can’t believe she’s my age.

[gault]

Please come join us in mn. We have a majority in both house and senate, and they are running with passing all the laws that the country needs. Right now, I'll take it even if it's just on the state level.

[mala]

I gotta drop this somewhere and here's as good a place as any. My brother and his family have decided to move from MN to TEXAS. It's for my SIL's job, but WTAF. You have two small kids! You're going from a place that won't fuck them up to fucking TEXAS. I really hope they're only going to stay for a few years until she can find a position somewhere more child & woman friendly.

Context: She's a doctor with a very specific specialization and can literally only work at maybe two dozen hospitals around the US. Her job in MN was admittedly AWFUL because the hours were completely unattainable so left her no time for family. She was offered a much more regular schedule in TX, which is why they decided to move.