In the upcoming legislative session in St. Paul, Representative Melissa Hortman will lead the House DFL Caucus and Representative Lisa Demuth will have the same role with the Republicans. The committees will be run with co-chairs, one from each party. However, the Constitution only allows one Speaker. Minnesota Farmers Union Government Relations Director Stu Lourey said it’s not known how that will be managed. “It’s just going to take a lot of work on our part to engage thoughtfully with that process and also to make sure that our priorities are broadly supported on a bipartisan basis and I think we’ve got a really good shot at doing that.” MFU plans to connect with the new and existing lawmakers. “We’re kicking off the session with a Lobby Day on February 4. We just got it scheduled and I think it has been important to us to schedule that early in the session so we can build those relationships with new members and make sure they understand what Farmers Union is and what we’re looking from from our representatives in the Legislature.”
