Video & Transcript Research : 'Duluth Promise'
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MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Education Policy Committee approves bill to repeal ethnic studies requirements 2/18/25
Transcript Highlights:
- Ninth graders will study lynchings in Duluth in 1920.
- Ninth graders will study<00:07:25.040>
lynchings <00:07:25.600>in <00:07:25.720>Duluth - study lynchings in Duluth in 1920. study lynchings in Duluth in 1920.
- studies emphasizes the actions of people from all ethnicities who refuse to be excluded from the promises
- studies emphasizes the actions of people from all ethnicities who refuse to be excluded from the promises
Summary:
House File 29 was heard in committee as a proposal to suspend adoption of the revised social studies standards, push implementation to 2030-31, repeal the requirement to embed ethnic studies across all standards, and cancel related appropriations. The bill sponsor argued Minnesota schools should focus on basic academic achievement and that ethnic studies requirements add burdens and distract from reading, math, and science. The chair moved the bill to the Committee on Education Finance after opening the hearing and then took extensive public testimony.
Testimony was sharply divided. Supporters of HF 29, including Katherine Kersten, Deanna Moose, Kendall Qualls, Hillary Swanson, and Diane Smith, argued the ethnic studies framework is ideological, overly focused on race, insufficiently transparent, and costly in professional development time; several said it would divide students or burden teachers. Some supporters also claimed the standards or framework promote activism, critical race theory, or racial stratification. Opponents, including Mark Westfall, Crystal Johnson, Jim Grathwol, Marcus Penny, Claude Sigman, and Courtney Major, said the standards are inclusive, research-based, and designed to help students understand multiple perspectives, civic life, and the contributions of diverse Minnesotans. They emphasized that ethnic studies can improve engagement, critical thinking, and representation, and that teachers should be trusted to implement the standards.
No final vote on the bill was taken in the portion of the meeting provided. The only formal action noted was the chair’s motion to re-refer House File 29 to the Committee on Education Finance.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee 3/5/26
Higher Education Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- addition to our Twin Cities medical school campus, we have a branch campus of our medical school in Duluth
- addition to our Twin Cities medical school campus, we have a branch campus of our medical school in Duluth
- addition to our Twin Cities medical school campus, we have a branch campus of our medical school in Duluth
- So if there is a repurchase agreement, please promise me that it will be a dollar and that the condition
- Cloud or at Duluth.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Committee on Health and Human Services - 02/12/25
Health and Human Services
Transcript Highlights:
- A little bit about Essentia Health: it is headquartered in Duluth.
- and potential of this vision promise and potential of this vision building<00:09:43.320>
on <00 - to point out one thing here: there was a time when our new state-of-the-art flagship hospital in Duluth
- <00:35:18.480>
you <00:35:18.680>that out of our budget I I promise you that out of - We are looking to expand that footprint in Duluth.
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
Cmte on Rules - Subcommittee on the Federal Impact on Minnesotans and Economic Stability - 10/30/25
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- All they hear is promises.
- /c><00:22:02.720>
they <00:22:02.880>hear <00:22:02.960>is <00:22:03.200>promises - All they hear is promises. We them. All they hear is promises.
- So there are 35 million tons of cargo that move through just the Duluth port each year and $1.3 billion
- Promise you— >> Thank you. Uh, didn't you guys >> Representative Perez Vega: Thank you.
Summary:
The committee first approved the March 5 minutes, then heard a presentation from Balig Engineering on cost drivers for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in small Minnesota communities. The testifier said most Minnesota communities are small, and that limited local staff, complex funding requirements, and the need to combine multiple funding sources make projects expensive and labor-intensive. He cited examples of aging infrastructure, including a Tracy street collapse and failing water mains, and said federal funding can help but often requires extensive reports that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of staff hours. He also pointed to inflation, supply-chain disruptions, colder climate requirements, higher material and labor costs, limited competition among contractors and suppliers, and newer treatment requirements such as PFAS removal and cybersecurity controls as major cost drivers.
Members asked whether reduced bonding or less frequent state funding would lower prices, whether annual bonding bills provide market certainty, how regionalization could be encouraged, and whether tightening specifications adds costs. The testifier said stopping work would likely drive contractors out of the market and reduce competition, which could raise prices later, and that consistent funding helps keep contractors in Minnesota. He said regional water systems such as Red Rock Rural Water and Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water are already helping lower costs and that legislators could encourage more regionalization through incentives. He also said some specifications and federal requirements, especially around treatment plant controls and cybersecurity, increase costs, though some standards like deeper water-main burial are necessary. The committee then moved on to the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, where John Kelly began presenting the governor’s 2026 capital budget recommendations and described the department’s mission, statewide network of veterans homes and cemeteries, and service to nearly 300,000 veterans and dependents.
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
House Housing Finance and Policy Committee 3/12/25
Housing Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- streets and common spaces, and it is the city's responsibility to ensure a developer fulfills their promises
- streets and common spaces, and it's the city's responsibility to ensure a developer fulfills their promises
- streets and common spaces, and it's the city's responsibility to ensure a developer fulfills their promises
- streets and common spaces, and it's the city's responsibility to ensure a developer fulfills their promises
- reality is that we can, and it's happening in places like Ely, Lanesboro, Red Wing, Stillwater, to Duluth
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
Committee on Environment, Climate and Legacy - 04/03/25
Environment, Climate, and Legacy
Transcript Highlights:
- Louis County and the Duluth area.
- Moreover, the proposed Duluth area ATV route study would lay the groundwork for essential connectivity
- Louis County and the Duluth area.
- Moreover, the proposed Duluth area ATV route study would lay the groundwork for essential connectivity
- that we would be able to hunt, promised that we would be able to hunt, fish,<01:45:33.679>
and
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- We are eroding the promise of M.Stead and deinstitutionalization in real time.
- of Mstead and We are eroding the promise of Mstead and deinstitutionalization<00:17:46.320>
in A caregiver who hears, "We can't promise A caregiver who hears, "We can't promise your<01:49:36.080- She was a provider in Duluth.
- You're from Duluth, aren't you? "You're from Two Harbors, aren't you?"
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee 4/11/25
Transportation Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- I'm here to remind you of the promises you've already made to sustainability and public transportation
- I'm the executive director of the Duluth Airport Authority.
- Duluth is home to Cirrus Aircraft, the Minnesota Air National Guard's 148th Fighter Wing, Monaco Air
- Duluth, Lake Superior College's Center for Advanced Aviation, and passenger service providers such as
- A new $72 million air traffic control tower at Duluth International Airport... ...at Duluth International
Bills:
HF2438
Keywords:
transportation finance, transportation policy, MnDOT, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety, Metropolitan Council, highway funding, trunk highway fund, county state-aid highway fund, municipal state-aid street fund, state aid roads, local roads, bridge funding, road construction, transit funding, passenger rail, freight rail, aviation, airport development, safe routes to school
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
House Housing Finance and Policy Committee 3/5/25
Housing Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- We serve the seven counties in northwest Minnesota, and we're office in Duluth.
- This bill offers a promising solution to support some older adults in both rural and urban communities
- This bill offers a promising solution to support some older adults in both rural and urban communities
- This bill offers a promising solution to support some older adults in both rural and urban communities
- This bill offers a promising solution to support some older adults in both rural and urban communities
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- Welcome to the committee. promise something that can't be funded promise something that can't be funded
- I earned a bachelor's in public health from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
- of minnesota duluth with that i<00:48:19.440>
was <00:48:19.599>working <00:48:20.000>< - I received my undergraduate degree and had an opportunity to be a Promise Fellow at a school where I
- fellow at a school where i be a promise fellow at a school where i saw<01:02:43.359>
many <01:
Summary:
The Education Finance Committee met remotely on February 16, 2022, with a quorum present and approved the minutes from the previous day by voice vote. Chair Dabney said the committee was spending the week on public school staffing shortages, especially efforts to increase and retain BIPOC teachers, and introduced testimony on the Collaborative Urban and Greater Minnesota Educators of Color Grant Program (CUGMEC) and the broader Increasing Teachers of Color Act.
Testifiers from St. Thomas, Augsburg, and Hopkins described the history and impact of the legacy educator-of-color programs. Kathleen Campbell said the original Q program was created to address underrepresentation, remove financial barriers, and provide mentorship and culturally relevant support; she argued that when the grant became competitive in 2017 without additional funding, support was spread too thin and student capacity dropped. Audrey Lensmeyer described Augsburg’s East African Student-to-Teacher Program, rooted in community advocacy in Cedar-Riverside, and said it has produced strong completion and licensure outcomes. Keenan Jones shared his path from paraprofessional to teacher and district leader, emphasizing the importance of scholarships, mentorship, and outreach to high school students, including a statewide co-enrollment Intro to Teaching course.
Representative Hassan then presented House File 3079, saying the bill aims to attract, prepare, complete, and retain more teachers of color and American Indian teachers through several grant and program changes, including Closing the Educational Opportunity Gap grants, Cook Mac funding, teacher mentorship and retention updates, and revisions to CUGMEC. He said the bill responds to a severe shortage of BIPOC teachers and that the requested investment is small relative to the state surplus. Student and educator testimony followed, including a third-grade student from Crookston and Ava Roots, both of whom described the importance of having teachers who reflect students’ cultures and experiences. Natalia Benjamin, the 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, also testified about retention challenges for educators of color and racialized workplace treatment. The committee indicated it intended to lay over HF 3079 for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill, and Representative Richardson moved the bill to be laid over for further consideration.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Floor Session - part 2 May 19th, 2025
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- We asked folks to tighten their belts in 2018, and we made a promise to our public employees, our police
- That does that work that we promised we would do.
- And then the other night on the floor, we found $77 million on a train to Duluth.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- So for communities like Duluth and Hermantown, St.
- So for communities like Duluth and Hermantown, St.
- I'm the executive director of the Duluth Airport Authority.
- I'm the executive director of the Duluth Airport Authority.
- Airplanes out of Duluth, Minnesota.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Vets Committee Meeting - 2025-03-12
Veterans and Military Affairs Division
Transcript Highlights:
- this bill was to develop success metrics to ensure that we better serve our veterans and keep our promises
- We have a great relationship with the Vet Center in Duluth as well as Fargo.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Senate Floor Farewells - 05/18/26
Minnesota Senate Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- , and said that get that boy to Duluth, and said that get that boy to Duluth, Minnesota<01:07:40.160
- <01:07:47.960>
And the car and they drove me to Duluth. - And the car and they drove me to Duluth.
- I originally promised I'd serve eight to 10 years. This is year 14.
- to I originally promised I'd serve eight to 10<01:49:28.280>
years.
Summary:
The meeting was a Senate retirement recognition session held after adjournment sine die, with the presiding officer relaxing decorum so members could speak, applaud, and interact more freely. The chair explained the order of speakers and noted that retiring members would be recognized from their desks, with a plaque presented by Senate leaders and photos taken afterward. The session was framed as a celebration of service for retiring senators and a tribute to staff, families, and colleagues.
Senator Mann spoke first, thanking constituents, family, staff, colleagues, and advocates, and highlighting policy accomplishments such as banning non-compete clauses, wage transparency, breast cancer screening coverage, protections for students, expanded health coverage, pharmacy benefit manager reforms, physician workforce changes, the medication repository program, and paid leave. She also used her remarks to criticize racism, sexism, and broader threats to women’s and people of color’s freedoms, urging civic engagement and warning against erosion of democracy. Senator Tou Xiong followed with a personal farewell centered on his mother’s refugee experience, his family’s sacrifices, and gratitude to mentors and colleagues; he emphasized the value of public service, bipartisan cooperation, and the idea that Minnesota should be a model for the country.
Senator Howe gave a faith-centered retirement speech reflecting on his path from humble beginnings, his family, military and public service, and the importance of humility, justice, mercy, and listening to constituents. Senator Klein looked back on a decade in the chamber, including the pandemic and the George Floyd unrest, and said the Senate’s decorum and relationships endured through difficult times; he cited a bill he helped pass for a child needing a prosthetic blade as an example of the legislature’s best work. Senator Draheim began his remarks by thanking his wife and children and joking about his discomfort with speeches, then described being recruited to run for office despite never seeing himself as a politician.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- Um, I promise I'm not bitter about my amendment not passing.
- bitter<00:31:44.040>
about <00:31:44.320>my I promise I'm not bitter about my I promise - I will say I will spend time in Rochester and Duluth.
- I will say I will spend time in Rochester and Duluth.
- I will say I will spend time in Rochester and Duluth.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- Building Trades in Duluth.
- There are letters of support from the City of Duluth, the building and construction trades, and the Duluth
- There are letters of support from the City of Duluth, the building and construction trades, and the Duluth
- There are letters of support from the City of Duluth, the building and construction trades, and the Duluth
- There are letters of support from the City of Duluth, the building and construction trades, and the Duluth
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- Um, some very promising things is the supporting wages, the top-tier benefits, no college debt, and of
- Um, some very promising things is the supporting wages, the top-tier benefits, no college debt, and of
- Um, some very promising things is the supporting wages, the top-tier benefits, no college debt, and of
- Um, some very promising things is the supporting wages, the top-tier benefits, no college debt, and of
- Um, some very promising things is the supporting wages, the top-tier benefits, no college debt, and of
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Conference Committee on H.F. 2438 - Transportation Omnibus - 05/08/25
Transcript Highlights:
- And there's a House item uh for the Duluth airport tower, and you can find that on line 23.
- And there's a House item uh for the Duluth airport tower, and you can find that on line 23.
- And there's a House item uh for the Duluth airport tower, and you can find that on line 23.
- And there's a House item uh for the Duluth airport tower, and you can find that on line 23.
- And there's a House item uh for the Duluth airport tower, and you can find that on line 23.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- to the Lao Mong to keep our promise to the Lao Mong people,<00:40:54.120>
we <00:40:54.320> - does too by the way and I think Duluth does too by the way have<01:14:24.600>
a <01:14:24.680> - We have ordinances in I think about 15 cities in the state, including Rochester, Duluth, Moorhead, St
- We have ordinances in I think about 15 cities in the state, including Rochester, Duluth, Moorhead, St
- We have ordinances in I think about 15 cities in the state, including Rochester, Duluth, Moorhead, St