What would you like to see change in Minnesota?
Minnesotans across the state would like to see things improve. But that improvement can take many different forms. If there is one thing that you would like to see changed in Minnesota to improve our state, what would that be?
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• On religion: Here and elsewhere, people of faith lean Republican• On taxes: Most Minnesotans see state taxes as good value• On health care: Minnesotans love their health care, but not all is well• On immigration: Minnesota shows deep divides• On the future: Minnesotans upbeat even as problems, politics swirl
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"Education - Put more focus on funding quality daycare & preschool for all. When kids start school at the same level, achievement gaps will be smaller. It’s easier to solve the problem before it’s a huge problem." -- Jennifer"I would like to see the death of hyper-partisanship. This is starting to cause too many divisions in this state when there really do not need to be. Generally, Minnesotans can usually work issues out and not have to play power games all of the time and yet the current political climate is toxic." -- Bryan"Effect positive changes in education: value teachers, empower the teacher's unions and listen to them. Address and mitigate the shameful facts of structural racism in MN, which perpetuates disparities seen in educational outcomes." -- Anonymous"Reduce the cost of health insurance." -- Suzan"I would like to see the people of Minnesota take the time to educate themselves on issues before making sweeping statements on politics, immigration, and education." -- Anonymous
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"I want us to keep our reputation for being NICE! It's become a bit of a joke and very cliche, but in our current political climate it seems more important than ever to simply be nice. Being nice affords us to have discussions around the very serious challenges facing us resulting in solution." -- Michelle"More efforts to protect and care for our lakes and the life within them." -- Allie"Assault weapons ban, magazine capacity restrictions, and background checks for private sales. Our state should lead when it comes to sensible gun laws." -- Anonymous"Legalize recreational marijuana." -- Liam"Redraw district lines so our politicians more accurately reflect the desires of the states constituents." -- Anonymous"Servility toward foreign corporations polluting the Boundary Waters region. The making of a future Super Fund site in the name of improving economics today, is pathological. End the prospect of copper nickle sulfide mining in Minnesota." -- William"One species in Minnesota recovered enough to be taken off the threatened or endangered list." -- Anonymous"For the Democrats to capture both houses of the legislature and the governorship." -- Ron
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If you could change 1 thing in Minnesota, what would it be?
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"I would like to see more people who live and work in Minnesota to be grateful about all the wonderful things about living and working Minnesota, and yes even complain less about the cold (which is our great equalizer)." -- Jayesh"We need to integrate our kitchen tables. Have coffee with people outside our circle. Listen to each other." -- Steve"Eliminate billboards." -- Jeff
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"Stop taking gift taxes. We earned them not the government." — Ronnie"I'd like MN to adopt a universal health care policy/program that allows all Minnesotans to access the care they need, unconditionally." — Anna"For the governor to sign a bill rescinding the MN income tax." — Aaron"Better public transportation for outstate Minnesota: small towns to connect to big communities, adding frequent, reasonable transportation both rural to communities, and within the communities that are schedule driven not door-to-door. These are mainly set up for special needs/elderly." — Brenda"Useless anger. The problems are us not them. We don't want to fix things, help people, make sure next generation can support us in old age and we don't want to pay our fair share. This results in a universal anger and blame that is not based on what is wrong but what we want to believe is wrong." — P.D."Require all post education citizens to accomplish 2 years of community service. Local or military." — Anonymous"Lose the liberal insanity that controls the state from the Twin Cities, and get back to the old school common sense values that built this state and country." — Tim"Have the wisdom to always put our beautiful environment first above profits and special interests. No new mining and pipelines, no wolf hunt." — Victoria"Get rid of passive aggressive behavior. And be nicer to transplants who don't have family here." — Bryan"Change the medical cannabis program so it is more patient friendly or just legalize recreational cannabis." — Tyler"Intentionally desegregate our schools. This is the #1 reason our a state has the nation's highest achievement gap, despite being one of the best states in the country for education. Research shows school integration reduces this achievement gap by 50%. No other program or intervention has results that even come close to this." — Abbey
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"Teach Minnesotans to drive and merge properly. Teach them that the secret lane is not acceptable. Teach them that the left lane is for passing and not cruising at 2 miles under the speed limit." — Kate"We need more solar and wind energy sources. We also need better internet infrastructure to help keep people connected and give them access to more job opportunities." — Steve"Fix how schools are funded so schools in outstate communities aren't starved for basics and their kids disadvantaged in the classroom and out. If education is supposed to be the great equalizer in this country/state, we have to stop tying funds directly to area populations because students in affluent areas enjoy a huge advantage over other students in financially strained communities. We need to do better for all Minnesota students, regardless of school district." — Terri"Affordable housing for the many hard-working folks who are trying to make ends meet." Jennifer"Stop churning people of color in both the criminal justice and social service systems and set them free. It doesn't help anyone and costs a lot of money. Help (if) you want. But at least stop destroying lives." Linda"No more roundabouts.
Just kidding. Let's work on the achievement gap, and making strides towards being welcoming to newcomers. And electronic billboards — get rid of those." — Jen"The dirty polluted lakes of central and southern MN. Clean them up and put some regulations on the farmers who have destroyed them." — Thomas"An end to snarky liberal lefty/self-righteous right comments. Let's try an open courteous dialogue to discuss our differing points of view." — Dena"Make a state law to require a “Minnesota Goodbye” be no longer than 3 minutes instead of an hour." — David"TEFRA having middle Class families not having to pay for their child’s MA. Many families have a hard time paying the bills because they have a child with a disability. Children are not getting the help they need simply because the parents can’t afford to pay. Once the child is 18 then there is no fee. Why not help children get the medical therapies going instead of only doing educational therapies. Every child should have the chance to become the most independent as possible for adulthood and a tax paying citizen." — Kelly -
"Protect the environment above all else. If we don't have clean air, water and land, we have nothing. Jobs can be developed in sync with life sustaining practices." — Denise"Less divisiveness and voting strictly along party lines. Study the issues and vote according to the long term effects. Maybe all bills should have bipartisan sponsors before they can come up for a vote." — Erma"Legal Marijuana. Its brought so much money for the economy in the states it’s legal. We should take it seriously and look into becoming the first state in the Midwest." — Anonymous"Much more affordable and public housing." — Richard
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"Embrace diversity. We are reverting to tribalism. Then close the achievement gap. We are wasting precious resources if we don’t, resources that will be sorely needed." — Will"Eliminate adding MN state-tax refunds from prior year as income for current year income base." — Anonymous"To see the different political parties realize what their real job is to work together and do what is good for our people, country and planet. Not what is good for their political party. We have the potential to make our state, country and world so much better but the ability to destroy mankind." — Udean
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"Take care of the elderly!" — Anonymous"More training for skilled labor" — Kathleen"Improved public transportation. Let's make the Twin Cities a car-optional city!" — Mary
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"Require county attorneys to prosecute theft by conversion specifically for Ag commodities. Theft of corn or cattle currently is rarely prosecuted and almost always forcibly shoved into civil court no matter the value of the theft. Once your year end “commodity” is gone." — Russ"I would like to see Minnesotans confront their racism — that means everything from anti-immigrant sentiment to anti-black racism. With some of the worst disparities in the country & in the current climate, focusing on reducing structural and interpersonal racism couldn't hurt." — Amanda"It will never happen, but I would favor annexation to Canada." — Barbara"Housing costs are too high. Wages haven't kept up with rents. More affordable housing is needed!" — Cheryl"The change I would like to see is universal health care for every Minnesota resident. The U.S. can’t seem to figure out universal health care — let’s show them how it’s done!" — Kacia"To reinstate Al Franken." — Mari"I would like to see cannabis for adult recreational use become legalized in 2018. The Western states are experiencing an economic boom thanks to this industry and are also experiencing a reduction in usage by their youth due to these newly regulated and controlled marketplaces." — Chris
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"More "One Minnesota" with long-term thinking at the legislature and less national party politics. The one-upmanship and constant spinning of tales does a disservice to who we are and what we need to do, in order to make other things on this list a reality." — Julie"I would like all citizens to take more responsibility for fixing the things that they think are "broken". Government cannot fix everything for us. Become an active citizen that strives to find balance between all interests." — Lynne"I would like to see legislators in both parties show more leadership by negotiating fairly and transparently and not resorting to power plays. Both parties have been guilty of this behavior recently as shown by the MN Supreme Court lawsuit. MN looks like Congress right now and we can do better." — Dan"Desegregating the schools and hopefully reducing the achievement gap. It is shameful." — Molly"I would like to see more funding for child care assistance. Hennepin county parents currently have a three year wait before they receive assistance. I would like all people living in MN to be eligible for driver's licenses instead of it being based on citizenship or documentation status." — Kirsten"More aggressive protection for clean water." — Kay"A lot less of "them" and "they" and a lot more of "us" and "we." We have a lot more in common with one another than differs. We want great education, affordable housing, good wages, a healthy environment and safe communities. Letting national politics create a wedge undermines all that is good here." — F. Sepler"I wish those of us who are doing well financially and socially would find a new way to help those around us who aren't as successful as we are. Since the federal-level "leadership" is taking us in the wrong direction on too many policies to count, we need to focus on what we can control here in MN." — Jane"Adjust K-12 school funding so rural districts have financial resources equal to metro districts, and fund preschool." — Nan"People need to be more informed & reasonable. Get info from a wide variety of sources; make their own informed decisions. Get exposure to other cultures/lifestyles; how many people in rural MN have a Muslim or African American friend? Xenophobia & jingoism are out of control in MN and USA." — Anonymous"Better decisions on spending taxpayers' money. A prime example is the proposed $2B plus $35M per year for a streetcar line on West 7th. Imagine how many great projects could be funded with that money. TWO BILLION DOLLARS!" — Mark
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"1) Less racial segregation and racism; 2) Strict environmental regulations (especially around mining in the BWCA)." — Anonymous"With the new administration it is clear there is a lot of animosity revolving new immigrants and people of color. I would ask the state to take a pro-active approach in educating their community members on the contribution that both new and old immigrants actually make to this state's economy." — Anonymous"Minnesota Care for all. Obviously the federal government is only going to make the health care system/situation worse (and more costly). At least Minnesota could join the small ranks of states leading the way by offering quality care without increasing costs (as already outlined by the governor)." — Jess"Lighten up on the ethics code for state legislators, so that we can encourage them to meet together, dine together, relax and get to know each other across party lines. Current rules keep them apart, when a social beverage and moment might help them see each other as people not party representatives." — Anonymous"For the metro area we need to focus on two critical success factors: improving high school graduation rates and combating expanded poverty. Greater Minnesota needs a strategic plan to increase access to childcare. Lifting our performance in these areas will yield far-reaching results." — Dillon
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"To increase the number of visitors to the MN state parks, I would like to see archery ranges built in all the state parks for the THOUSANDS of NASP students, target archers and hunters that shoot archery as a recreation." — Nicolas"Create a realistic law for medical marijuana, and just legalize it - the taxes gained from that could really help schools, infrastructure improvements and environmental projects - look at the success in Colorado." — Greg"Parents be parents and quit relying on educators to raise your kids. If they struggle with reading and math YOU SIT DOWN WITH THEM AT NIGHT AND HELP THEM! Get off your phone! I'm sick of those blaming teachers. And how sick is it when a parent can be their own child's PCA for money?!" — Becki"Start bridging the divide by talking to our Muslim Minnesotans. Start a call in talk radio show through MPR that links Muslims and Christians through moderated thoughtful discussion." — Anonymous"Investigate potential fraud and abuse in Medicaid. Ask why millions of Medicaid dollars go towards translation services, transportation and waivers. Shouldn't Medicaid be a temporary program?" — Anonymous"Spend the same amount per pupil in every school district. All students need a strong foundation in education, no matter their address, home language, skin color, or income level." — Marta"Healthcare for everyone period. Right now those suffering the most are small business owners. Japan’s model is nice. Request #2 state subsidized childcare (from birth) for everyone or paid parental leave along the lines of Denmark or Finland....Or most of the rest of the developed world." — Karlene"I would like to see legislators put the good and interests of ALL Minnesotans above partisan politics. They may say they do this, but clearly, they do not." — Anonymous"Greater empathy toward the refugees we are welcoming in to our state. They're people too, and they deserve the same rights as people who are from here." — Nicholas"The community (average citizens in the public) to be included in decisions. Not just the powerful and the stakeholders. Every person has value and I believe some good ideas. Include us in problem solving and outreach!" — Anonymous"So often we talk about how great Minnesota is to live and grow up and yet we have such a drastic disparity between African Americans and whites in terms of wealth, education, etc. I wish that public policy would finally address this issue that would improve quality of life for everyone." — Katy"Move control of boundaries for voting areas within the state to a privet company or commission TO AVOID POLITICAL GERRYMANDERING!" — Anonymous
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"To be more welcoming to immigrants! I moved here in 2014 and I thought Hmong and Somalis were welcomed. With Trump’s ascendancy, it has changed!" — Anonymous"Single payer healthcare for all Minnesotans." — Michael"I would love to see Minnesota set a shining example of bipartisanship for the nation and have democrats and republicans work together on bipartisan, common sense issues." — Brad"I would like to see the Republican Party to work for the people and not focus on large businesses all the time. Welfare reform that actually puts people back to work within 30 to 45 days by giving small local businesses a tax break by hiring and training them!" — Anonymous"Bridge the divide between our white and black communities. Bring more economic growth, graduation rates, health, job opportunities, home ownership to the people of color in this state." — Anonymous"A change in attitude towards immigrants and refugees in all areas of Minnesota but especially rural areas. Immigrants are our neighbors and that is not going to change any time soon. We need to be welcoming and supportive." — Anonymous"I would like to see more infrastructure improvements in public transit and high speed rail." — Austin"Reverse the recent trend of Minnesota leading the nation in wetland and wooded land being converted into agriculture. Stop the draining of Western Minnesota... our water tables can't take it!" — Stacy"More public transportation." — Lisa
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"Better homelessness outreach policy and affordable housing." — Katy"Women leadership. I want to see a female governor in the great state of Minnesota." — Eli"Civility, especially when we disagree." — Mark"Implement municipal broadband - vocational technical colleges tuition free - minncare / Medicare for all." — David"We’re already the BEST at almost everything. However, the opioid crisis is a need." — Jane"Desegregate our schools that have resegregated." — Abbey"Replace the "No Spitting" ordinance. Stop the spitting." — Trish"Stagnant wages among blue collar class." — Patrick
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"I would like MN to close racial gaps, especially in education and in measures of economic well being." — Catherine"We have beautiful state and regional parks; create even more outdoor programs to encourage Minnesotans to get outside and enjoy our amazing park systems. Preserve the current parks and create new spaces to protect our environment so that future generations can also enjoy the parks." — Anna"I would like to see housing be more affordable. Too many high-end apartment buildings going up, while we have so many homeless. How does that make sense? Safe, clean housing should be affordable for everyone." — Kay"Impose term limits to the governor, 2 terms. The MN house 4 terms. And Senate 3 terms. Also limits on outside money in elections. Keep it local." — Anonymous"I want to see every Minnesotan covered by state health insurance that is free or of low charge to the public." — Pat"I want to see way less government and far lower taxes in our state, and with it wash out corruption, waste and cronyism." — Anonymous
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"Lower tuition costs for higher education. A change in the state tax code regarding overtime pay and tips. More bipartisanship and less division in our state politics." — Ethan"I'd like to see urban and rural communities work together. I grew up in a small town outstate (Blooming Prairie). My memory of government is support for projects in both urban and rural areas. Now there is more division and more suspicion. We all prosper together and suffer apart." — John"I want our legislative leaders and all representatives to comply with our Minnesota Constitution. They need to abide by the one-topic-per-bill requirement and quit using omnibus bills. Compliance should/must not be an option!" — Anonymous"I would like the fascist edge in conservative and liberal politics to melt away and never return." — Scott"Politics — how about making them work together? If they don't accomplish the job in time we don't reward them with "overtime" to get the job done. We dock their pay. If they don't settle on a budget by the end of the session, everyone's pay is docked, including the Governor." — Rhonda
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"Protection of our resources and natural wonders. Let rest of country destroy their states for money then we can be a shining star." — Kelly"Would like to see more affordable housing!! It’s way too high even in my small town!!" — Anonymous"Prison Reform: Minnesota could lead all states by making the 'correction' system more effective. Instead of merely locking criminals behind bars for a pre-determined number of months or years, effective means should be developed to prevent them from returning to their criminal behavior." — James"The divide between people in the state. Political, racial and religious." — Anonymous"I would like to see broader discussion about equality between men and women. Recent sexual harassment cases have fueled a culture of accusations against men that have made men afraid of interacting with women in the workplace. It would be good to hear both sides of the story in 2018." — Chris"I would like the unemployment benefits to kick in sooner. When a person files for unemployment, it is 3 weeks before receiving the first check. This is very detrimental to someone living paycheck to paycheck. I don't know how to fix that, but I hope someone would try. Thank you." — Bonnie