In his final State of the State, Walz says Minnesota remains strong despite losses and Operation Metro Surge
ST. PAUL (KVRR) — Gov. Walz says Minnesota has been through tremendous grief, tragic losses and Operation Metro Surge, but the state of the state remains strong.
He delivered his final State of the State address at the capitol building in St. Paul.
He touted his list of accomplishments from free school meals, to investments in housing and making the largest investment in infrastructure that Minnesota has ever seen.
Walz asked legislators to pass a bonding bill this session worth $907 million in infrastructure projects.
He then took on fraud and encouraged lawmakers to pass a series of bills to implement safeguards and oversight.
“People who have ripped us off are getting caught and they are going to jail just like today. I’ve said the buck stops with me and I know some of you will that as an open invitation to play politics with every incident of fraud that takes place here in Minnesota, even though I have to tell you statistics show it’s happening in red states more than here, but so be it,” said Walz.
Republicans responded to Walz’ address by saying the state of the state is somewhat disappointing.
They pointed to an $18 billion surplus that was not returned to taxpayers.
Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth also pointed out costly mandates on schools and businesses.
And she said Walz didn’t even address fraud until the address was nearly over.
“We can’t fix everything from the last 7 years, but there is still work that we need to do. We’ve proved in the House that Democrats and Republicans can come together and do work and try to make things a little bit more affordable for Minnesota,” said Demuth.
Republican House Majority Leader Rep. Harry Niska called the address divisive and disappointing.
He said it was a one-sided speech about Minnesota and a one-sided view of Minnesotans and called the administration disastrous.
There are only 20 days left in this legislative session.
Walz ended his campaign for a third term back in January.
His term ends on January 4, 2027.
