March 2023

To the Editor, I am writing to applaud the choice of Patty Nordean for Two Harbors City Administrator. Most of the time I find myself in agreement with Katya and Mark Gordon, but not this time. It is great that there were multiple qualified candidates to choose from, and I am sure the question of whether to value local experience over education was not an easy one. Patty Nordean has shown over the years that she can deal with a wide range of situations, and her knowledge and experience will be highly valuable going forward. Promoting from within was a good move, and it is about time a woman takes a turn as Administrator. If there is a strong desire for the next City Administrator to have an advanced degree, maybe the City can do more to promote ongoing education among current employees.

Skraba, Ely-R, represents District 3A for the state of Minnesota, an area that includes much of Lake County. Rep. Skraba sends his monthly updates from St. Paul specifically for the Lake County Press. I am very humbled to represent you, your family, and all of District 3A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. The pace in St. Paul has been fast and furious since the legislative session started in early January. I will try to touch on a few things but there is no way to share thoughts on all of these issues in such a short amount of time. When I ran for office last year, access to mental health care was an issue that constantly came up as a top priority for voters. There are many forms and different ways to support the needs of mental health and I have been working extremely hard to make sure these needs are being met for those in need. Discussions continue on a bonding bill, and I have been approached to support a bill that would provide funding for two buildings in the Northland. One building would be in Virginia and would serve school districts in St. Louis, Koochiching, Lake, and Cook County. The other in Cloquet would be serving Lake, St. Louis, Aitkin, and Carlton county’s school districts. Both of these projects help provide comprehensive special education and alternative learning services for northeastern Minnesota schools. They will work cooperatively with over 20 school districts to provide a safe and healthy place for students to learn behavior skills to successfully transition back to their home districts. Making sure those who are the most vulnerable get the care they need is a priority of mine.