It has taken me over a week to write these words; grief is weird that way. It is so very hard to lose a colleague and a friend. As Minnesotans, we have collectively gone through a horrific experience that no one should ever have to. Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot multiple times, and Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were brutally murdered in the early hours of the morning on June 14. Minnesota is grieving the loss of a leader, and our legislative family is grieving the loss of our friend.
I had the privilege of working with Melissa Hortman in the Minnesota House as a colleague, as minority leader, as Speaker, and finally as Speaker Emeritus. She was a brilliant negotiator, knew how to build a team, had a wicked sense of humor, loved to garden and bake cakes, was dedicated to the well-being of all Minnesotans, and clearly loved her family.
While she was a private person, Melissa still talked with pride about her children Sophie and Colin. My heart breaks at the loss that they have experienced, especially in such a public way. It was also very clear that Melissa loved her husband, Mark. Mark was at countless political events supporting Melissa. He was always quick to strike up a conversation, was a wonderful listener, and so very proud of his family. I remember an event I was at alone and Mark noticed that I was standing off to the side of the action. He came over, introduced himself, and asked how my family was doing and what legislation I was working on. He adapted to any situation with ease.
Melissa led our DFL caucus through many changes with tenacity and grace. She had an innate ability to see a person’s skill set and help them grow in their leadership capacity. While Melissa did not seek the limelight, she was able to rise to the occasion with humor and the ability to convey a message that reflected the heart of our caucus. As someone who personally appreciates a well-placed expletive, I loved her ability to get straight to the point. Melissa was a force of nature whether it was proclaiming “sorry, not sorry” on the House floor in reaction to colleagues playing cards in the retiring room instead of listening to a poignant floor debate or responding “LFG” to the press who asked “what’s next” when the DFL won the trifecta in November of 2022.
Melissa was an incredible advocate for vulnerable Minnesotans and was always willing to stand side-by-side with her colleagues to cause “good trouble.”
She left Minnesota a better place because of the work she did and because of who she was. I thank the Hortman family for sharing her with us. Her spirit will be our North Star for a very long time.
I continue to do the work for the people in our communities of Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina – please do not hesitate to reach out if you need assistance or help with our state government. Email is the quickest way to get in touch and I am available at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or via phone at 651-296-9889.
Yesterday, the Minnesota Legislature convened a special session and completed its work of balancing the state budget for the next two years. We also passed the first capital investment bill since 2023, which will lead to improvements in roads, bridges, wastewater treatment plants, and state assets across Minnesota while creating thousands of good-paying jobs.
Photo: House Photography
Information about the bills passed during the special session, including bill language and spreadsheets, can be found here.
In the first session of divided government since 2022, DFLers successfully blocked efforts to roll back laws that help to make Minnesota a great place to live, work, and raise a family, including Paid Family and Medical Leave, universal school meals, and reproductive freedom, and nearly every single DFL accomplishment from the 2023-2024 session remains in effect.
As the House Education Finance Committee Co-Chair, I am particularly proud of the fact that we defended indexing the general education formula to inflation. It provides a stable funding stream as districts set their budgets and guarantees at least a 2% increase to the general education formula each year.
There were also difficult compromises that we had to make to balance the state budget for the next two years while keeping an eye on the future during these unpredictable economic times. I do wish we could have found a way to increase revenue so we did not have to make cuts to education or health care.
We’ll do a deep dive on the work of 2025 at one of my end of session town hall meetings I’m hosting in Edina and St. Louis Park. Here are the details of those events:
Edina Delegation Legislative Town Hall Tuesday, June 24th, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. Edina Community Lutheran Church, 4113 W. 54th Street, Edina
District 46 Session Wrap-Up Town Hall Wednesday, June 25th, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Park City Hall, 5005 Minnetonka Blvd. St. Louis Park, MN 55416
I hope to see you at the end of the month! Although the interim has arrived, the work doesn’t stop. I’m always happy to connect with constituents and hear what’s on your mind. Please don’t hesitate to reach out anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889.
Since May 19th, the House has been preparing to enter a special session. Working groups, comprised of House and Senate members, have been meeting almost daily to iron out differences in the bills that made it off of their respective floors and were too late to have traditional conference committees.
Rep. Ron Kresha and I share the gavel as House Education Finance Co-Chairs, and we have worked almost every day since adjournment of the regular session to negotiate with the Senate Education Finance Chair Senator Kunesh in order to wrap up the education budget. As chairs, we also spent some quality time in negotiations with our larger working group that consisted of Rep. Sydney Jordan (Co-Chair of House Education Policy), Rep. Mary Frances Clardy, Rep. Patricia Mueller, and Rep. Ben Bakeberg, Senator Steve Cwodinski (Chair of Senate Education Policy), Senator Heather Gustafson, Senator Erin Maye Quade, and Senator Jason Rarick. We were tasked with funding a two-year state budget for our K-12 schools with a $0 increase in 2026-2027 and to reduce investments in the amount of $420 million for the forecasted budget years of 2028-2029.
While the final product was not one any of our caucuses would have written alone, it reflects the nature of a tied House and a one seat DFL majority in the Senate. We had to make difficult decision on cuts to stay within the negative budget target that we were given. We tried to keep a majority of those cuts out of the classroom, but unfortunately, raising revenue wasn’t an option by my colleagues across the aisle. But, we were able to protect some of our progress from last session. Most notably, the bill maintains eligibility for Unemployment Insurance for our valuable hourly school workers, universal meals for our students, and retains the link between the general education formula and inflation that provides some stability to our schools. This is especially important during the current uncertain economic times.
I am pleased to share that a compromise was reached and we will rolled out the legislation today at a public hearing at 1:00 p.m. You can watch the recording here.
The next steps are to wait for a special session to be called and then vote to get the compromise bill across the finish line. You can see the budget spreadsheets and bill language here. Thank you for staying engaged—I’ll keep you updated as we return to set the remainder of the two-year budget for the state of Minnesota.
Small Business Support with Elevate Hennepin
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to take your business to the next level, I encourage you to explore what Elevate Hennepin has to offer. They provide professional resources and connect you with expert advisors—all at no cost to participants. This kind of investment in our local business community is exactly what helps make west metro communities and our broader district such a vibrant place to live and work. I’ll continue advocating for policies and programs that help local businesses thrive.
Summer Farmers Markets & Events
Summer is here and with the new month comes another season of farmers markets and fun citywide events. Find a location most convenient to you by reviewing the dates and times of the Hopkins Farmers Market website and Edina Farmers Market website. The city websites also have calendars posted online sharing information about special events and gatherings. It’s one of the best times of the year and I’m looking forward to a summer filled with community engagement and neighborhood gatherings.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions, input, or to let me know if I can provide assistance.
ST. PAUL, MN – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the E-12 Education Budget and a standalone bill that funds unemployment insurance for hourly school workers like bus drivers, cafeteria staff, and paraprofessionals.
“This budget agreement reflects our commitment to Minnesota’s students at a time when public education is under attack at the federal level,” said State Representative Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins), Co-Chair of the House Education Finance Committee. “Thanks to our work last session to link the education formula to inflation, Minnesota schools will still receive funding increases each year going forward, maintaining universal access to free school breakfast and lunch, as well as providing flexibility for our school districts.”
The House Education Budget includes several DFL and GOP initiatives that will increase the number of qualified special education teachers, fund roof repairs and replacements for schools with critical infrastructure needs, expand evidence-based math tutoring programs, and support youth engagement through programs like the Minnesota Youth Council and the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs.
Two years ago, lawmakers indexed per-pupil funding formula increases to inflation. As a result, Minnesota schools are set to receive a 2.7% increase next year and a 3% increase in 2026. This historic move gives school districts funding stability and predictability even during uncertain budget times.
The bipartisan agreement preserves Minnesota’s universal school meals program for every student in Minnesota, regardless of income. More than 150 million meals were served in the inaugural year of the program, saving Minnesota families an estimated $1,000 per student.
Video from today’s floor debate can be found here.
With four days to go in the 2025 session, legislative leaders and Governor Walz announced a budget agreement yesterday that would balance the budget for the 2026-27 biennium and erase 90% of the deficit projected for the 2028-29 biennium. Now that we have this financial roadmap solidified, conference committees can tie up loose ends and pass final budget bills to be sent to the governor.
Amid federal chaos and dysfunction at the White House, Minnesotans expect their elected leaders to work together, especially in times of divided government. By negotiating a bipartisan budget deal to conclude the work at the state level, Minnesota is demonstrating that governing is still possible even when we have major disagreements.
Don’t get me wrong; there are definitely things I’m not happy about in this agreement. If we were in charge, this budget deal would look a lot different. I would do a lot more to lower the cost of living for Minnesotans who just want to be able to afford a home, put food on the table, and take care of their family.
For my part, as the House Education Finance Co-Chair, I have been focused on getting a K-12 Education Finance bill across the finish line for the schools in our communities of St. Louis Park, Hopkins, and Edina, as well as schools across the state. We passed our the K-12 Education Finance bill off of the House floor this evening and will be working through the weekend to iron out the differences between our bill and the Senate Education Finance bill.
Floor Action
This week, as conference committees met while leaders negotiated a deal, we passed a few pieces of legislation off the House Floor. We passed the Health Policy bill, which expands the scope of practice for optometrists, allows newborns to be surrendered to some fire stations, removes a barrier to physician assistants to practice, and creates a path for nonprofit health care organizations to get capital funding.
We also passed a bill that would replace the statue of Henry Mower Rice in the U.S. Capitol with a statue of Hubert H. Humphrey upon approval by the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. The Humphrey statue would match what is currently on the Capitol Complex in St. Paul. Another measure we passed this week is the Claims bill, in which a Joint House-Senate Subcommittee on Claims decides which claims against the state should be funded.
City Declares May 16th Paige Bueckers Day in Hopkins
Today, the City of Hopkins proudly declared May 16th as Paige Bueckers Day!
As someone who’s followed Paige’s career since watching her play in 8th grade, this moment feels especially meaningful. It’s been incredible to witness her journey, and now celebrating her success in the community that raised her creates a perfect full-circle moment.
Keep in Touch
We’re continuing our work through the weekend. Please don’t hesitate to reach out anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions or input.
Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the State Capitol.
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