Latest Releases
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Federal Funding to Improve Osakis’s Water Treatment Plant and Water Tower
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $497,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant and a $651,000 loan to make improvements to the water treatment plant and water tower in Osakis. Specifically, the funding supports a project that will convert the iron filter to a biological ammonia-removal filter to allow chlorine to better clean the lines during water treatment which will help protect the distribution system. The project will also renovate Osakis’s water tower, which hasn’t been repaired since its construction in 1997. “The water treatment plant and water tower in Osakis require major repairs to ensure residents have access to quality water,” said Klobuchar. “This federal funding will advance the Osakis treatment plant and water tower modernization project and strengthen the city’s water infrastructure.” “Keeping our water clean and safe is important for safeguarding public health,” said Smith. “Securing this loan will benefit the residents of Osakis by better filtering their water of contaminants and updating their 15-year-old water tower.” Senators Klobuchar and Smith are members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, which oversees theUSDA. This federal funding was secured through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. Program grants can be used by communities across the country to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community in a primarily rural area, such as health care facilities, public safety services, educational services,
Klobuchar, Smith Announce Federal Funding to Improve Red Lake Falls’s Water and Waste Disposal Infrastructure
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced a $906,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant and an $8,310,000 loan to make improvements to the Red Lake Falls’s water, wastewater, and sewer infrastructure. Specifically, this project will construct a new water tower and pump station and install new water meters. “Red Lake Falls’s current water, wastewater, and sewer infrastructure no longer meets the needs of the city,” said Klobuchar. “Using this federal funding, Red Lake Falls can make the necessary improvements to enhance these critical public services.” “Minnesotans deserve to have safe, clean water,” said Smith. “The city of Red Lake Falls is no exception, and this investment from the USDA will update the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure system, directly impacting all of its residents.” Senators Klobuchar and Smith are members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, which oversees the USDA. This federal funding was secured through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. Program grants can be used by communities across the country to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community in a primarily rural area, such as health care facilities, public safety services, educational services, and more. ###
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Presses U.S. State Department to Address Canadian Border Restrictions Hurting Travel to Minnesota’s Northwest Angle
WASHINGTON, D.C. [4/7/21]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) has repeatedly pressed Canadian officials on issues affecting the Minnesota’s Northwest Angle—which cannot be accessed by land without traveling briefly through Canada—and today, Sen. Smith is urging the U.S. State Department to address new Canadian restrictions that are hurting Minnesotans who own homes and businesses in the Northwest Angle. Currently, due to border restrictions recently enacted by Canada, Angle residents, tourists and business owners are required to present a negative PCR COVID-19 test in order to travel through Canada to the Angle. But with limited PCR testing available in rural areas, Sen. Smith
In Senate Floor Speech, Sen. Tina Smith Reads Powerful Eulogy Delivered by Mother of Sandy Hook Victim; Implores Republicans to Find Humanity to Take Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. [3/24/21]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) took to the Senate floor to read the eulogy delivered by Veronique De La Rosa, mother of Noah Pozner—who died at age 6 at the mass shooting at Sandy Hook—as a reminder of the human toll caused by gun violence. Sen. Smith also implored her Republican colleagues to find their humanity to take action and curb this violence. Sen. Smith believes that Congress must make overdue reforms to protect our communities from gun violence, including banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, closing dangerous loopholes, ensuring universal background checks and funding programs that address the root causes of violence. You can watch Sen. Smith’s floor speech here. “In
U.S. Senators Klobuchar, Smith Announce $100 Million Federal Investment to Build, Improve Electric Infrastructure in Rural Minnesota
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/25/21]—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced a federal rural electric loan package totaling more than $100 million to build and improve electric infrastructure in Minnesota. Minnkota Power Cooperative will receive a $80,560,000 loan to fund improvement projects. Minnkota Power is headquartered in Grand Forks, and provides wholesale electric power to 11 distribution cooperatives serving nearly 137,000 households in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light and Power will receive a $22,817,000 loan to connect 132 consumers. This loan will also help expand smart grid technologies and build and improve 137 miles of line. “When we
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Help Introduce Resolution Condemning Anti-Asian Hatred, Discrimination Related to COVID-19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. [03/26/21]—In the wake of the recent Atlanta shooting—where eight people were killed, including six women of Asian descent—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) helped introduce a resolution to condemn all forms of anti-Asian sentiment, racism and discrimination. The resolution, led by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) also calls on federal officials, in collaboration with state and local agencies and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community organizations, to address the rise in COVID-19-related hate crimes. Sens. Klobuchar and Smith said that AAPIs were targeted in nearly 3,800 hate incidents across the country since last March, according to this report.
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