The 2010 Legislative Session ended on May 17. Thank you to everyone who took time to contact me during the 2010 Legislative Session. Your comments help me better represent Oakdale and Maplewood at the Capitol.

Working for you, I focused on getting Minnesotans back on the job and balancing the state budget, passing bills that will:

• • Put tens of thousands of Minnesotans back to work
  
• • Help small businesses compete in a global market
  
• • Maintain healthcare for 70,000 Minnesotans
  
• • Strengthen public safety and domestic violence initiatives
  
• • Make Minnesota's election system the best in the country
  

While Minnesotans still face significant challenges, there is good news on the horizon, including the positive news that a slow but steady economic recovery has begun. The work I've done will help fuel that recovery, lay a foundation for a return to prosperity, and help keep Oakdale and Maplewood great places to live, work, and raise a family.

Please continue to contact me about any issue or if I can be of assistance to you or your family. It is an honor to represent you in the State Legislature.

Sincerely,

As a six-term State Representative serving southern Maplewood and Oakdale, Nora is an active legislator and member of her community. She serves as the Chair of the Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee and on several other committees. She also is the chief author of numerous bills relating to early childhood financing and child care.

Nora works for the University of Minnesota as lecturer teaching a class on Early Childhood and Public Policy. In her work prior to becoming a State Representative, Nora worked in a variety of resource development positions including as a Development Officer for the University of Arizona; a Finance Director for the local Boy Scouts of America, and Campaign Manager for the local United Way.

Her honors and professional associations include:

• • Board Member, North Star Scouting Museum
• • Member, Governor's Council on Early Education and Child Care
• • Saint Paul Business and Professional Women Legislator of the Year, 2004
• • Head Start Outstanding Voice Award, 2004
• • Member of the Advisory Board, Office of the Economic Status of Women
• • Girl Scout Co-Leader, Beaver Lake Service Unit

Nora has a M.P.A.from the University of Minnesota, with a concentration on leadership and state public policy. She has a B.S. in Recreation Administration, with an emphasis on management of non-profit organizations, from Arizona State University. Nora was awarded the McKnight Salzburg Fellowship as part of her masters studies.

Protecting Our Students and Schools
Despite a $3 billion budget shortfall, we protected K-12 classrooms from state budget cuts and ensured school funding shifts will be repaid. We also created a system of accountability to help target resources to proven early learning programs, and worked to keep college affordable.

Creating Jobs and Rebuilding the Economy
With near record unemployment in Minnesota, we worked quickly to pass a jobs-targeted bonding bill that will pub up to 16,000 Minnesotans back on the job. This legislation makes important updates to college classrooms, repairs bridges statewide, improves wastewater facilities, and makes upgrades to parks and trails.

Building a Better Small Business Climate
Recognizing that small businesses are Minnesota's largest job creators, we enacted a comprehensive package of pro-business legislation aimed at creating a more favorable business climate by providing tax relief, streamlining regulations and reducing mandates, and creating a one-stop online resource network for entrepreneurs.