Longtime Southeast Minnesota Lawmaker Announces Retirement
Winona, MN (KROC-AM News)- One of Minnesota’s longest-serving lawmakers says this year’s legislative session will be his last.
2024 will mark his 38th year in the state legislature. His district includes the city of Winona.
Over the weekend Rep. Gene Pelowski announced on X, formally known at Twitter he does not plan to seek re-election this year. The 71-year-old DFL Representative currently chairs the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee and serves on the House Rules and Legislative Administration, Ways and Means and Capital Investment committees.
Pelowski championed Winona State University during his time in St. Paul and had a hand in implementing a higher education tuition freeze and the creation of the North Star Promise Scholarship program, which aims to create more skilled workers in Minnesota.
Pelowski also brought forward and helped to pass a bill into law that allows Minnesota’s governor to immediately distribute aid to areas declared a disaster by the governor or President of the United States without having to call a special session of the legislature.
That legislation was in response to the record-flooding that ravaged southeast Minnesota in 2007.
Pelowski also hosted two legislative mini sessions in Winona in September of 1989 and October of 2019. He says the results of those mini sessions led to job creating in southeast Minnesota.
The 2024 Minnesota Legislative Session is set to begin on Feb. 12.
More Minnesota News:
- Pick-Up Fatally Strikes Pedestrian at Minnesota Intersection
- Body Found in Garbage Can Leads to Death Investigation in Minneapolis
- Rochester Traffic Stop Leads to Cocaine, MDMA & Gun Bust
11 of the Most Devastating Weather Disasters in Minnesota Throughout The Years
Gallery Credit: Jessica Williams
