[MN-at-Large] What's Happening in Minnesota

Wed May 18 15:55:51 UTC 2022

Hi Everyone,

We continue to keep very busy in the NFB of Minnesota. I am trying hard to
strike a balance between keeping you up to date and not making this too
long. As long as this email is, I have had to leave some things out that are
important, and I'm sure I will remember something that should have been
included just after I send this. Here is what's happening.

Are You Attending the National Convention?

It would be very helpful if you would let me know if you are attending the
National Convention in person this year. This is very helpful as we plan
some of our activities. Registration for our national convention has been
open for some time now and closes by May 31.  Remember that there are two
types of registration, one for those attending in person and another for
those attending virtually.  Registration to attend virtually is free.  You
can get information about the annual convention, which is in New Orleans
from July 5-10, by visiting 

<https://d.docs.live.net/7e0b496d33987766/nfbmn%20President/www.nfb.org/conv
ention> National Annual Convention Information.

State Scholarship Winners

I am happy to announce the winners of the 2022 Joyce and Tom Scanlan
Scholarships. Our $2,000 scholarship goes to Rocky Hart, whom many of you
have met during the past few years.  Rocky will be attending the University
of Minnesota this fall and is majoring in Political Science.  Our $1,500
scholarship winner is Aviana Kasal.  She will be starting her second year at
the University of St. Thomas next fall, and she is majoring in Journalism.
You will be hearing more about our scholarship winners over the next few
months.

Building Leadership

I mentioned earlier that a leadership seminar was held in March In support
of our chapters.  We had the first of our follow-up check-in session at the
end of April and these will continue. Our chapters are where we most often
meet our communities.  Although this effort will continue, I want to thank
our chapters for the good work that is already being done. Remember that
information about all of our chapters and when they meet can be found on our
website. 

Next State Board Meeting

Our next board meeting will be on June 25, please watch for details.  We did
hold a meeting of our board on May11, and perhaps a dozen of us met in
person at our building.  This is the first in-person board meeting that we
have had in over two years.  Since May 11 is the anniversary of when
Minnesota became a state in 1858, we celebrated Minnesota's birthday with a
birthday cake, shared by all those who attended. It was very nice to meet
with people in person again.  We will continue to move toward in-person
meetings while remaining very aware of case counts and such.  

What's Happening in the State Legislature

As reported earlier, our bill to protect blind parents from unfair
treatment, HF2458, was heard in committee in the house and laid over to be
considered to be added in an omnibus bill.  The companion bill in the
Senate, SF1370, was not heard in the Senate committee.  The end of the
legislative session is drawing near, and it does not appear that our bills
will move forward in this session.  It is always a little disappointing when
legislation we support doesn't magically shoot through both houses and get
signed by the governor on our first try, this just isn't how it happens,
though.  Our work this year will be very helpful when we try again in the
session next year.  Your efforts contacting legislators in support of the
bill has planted seeds that will blossom next session. Thank you for your
help. 

Triple Your Donation Power

As of May 1, we have started our period of matching donations to our
national organizations.  In the past, we made pledges at our semi-annual
convention toward our tenBroek fund and our state organization matched those
donations.  Since we don't have a semi-annual convention, we are doing
things differently. Your donation could be matched by our state affiliate
and again my HumanWare, and you could even be entered into a drawing for a
free trip to the National Convention in 2023.  Our treasurer, Jennifer
Dunnam, sent announcement to this list last night with all of the details. 

Access Technology Stories and Experiences for Congress Needed

We are trying a new, more personalized, strategy in our advocacy for the
Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 431/S. 212). We want to gather
quotes and short stories from our members all across the country who use
access technology on a daily basis about how important it is to them.
Conversely, we are also looking for quotes and short stories which
illustrate how prohibitively expensive access technology can be. The idea is
that we can then take these stories straight to members of Congress from all
states and show them how this issue affects their constituents, and how
important it is for them to support and pass the Access Technology
Affordability Act. Please send your quotes to Jeff Kaloc at
<mailto:jkaloc at nfb.org> jkaloc at nfb.org. 

Dates to Keep in Mind

*	May 1 - June 30: Make a donation to National funds and it will be
matched.
*	May 17, 3:00 PM, Seniors' Division Meeting
*	May 21, 10:00 AM - Metro Chapter Meeting

*         May 24, 7:00 PM - Rochester Chapter Meeting

*	May 31:  Deadline for National Convention registration
*	June 1, 7:00 PM - National Presidential Release
*	June 2, at  5:00 PM: State Rehabilitation Council - Blind meeting
with specific information at  About the SRCB
<https://mn.gov/deed/ssb/about/srcb/>  page.
*	June 9, 7:00 PM - River Bend Chapter Meeting
*	June 18, 10:00 AM - Metro Chapter Meeting
*	June 19, 7:00 PM - At Large Chapter Meeting
*	June 25, 10:00 AM - State Board Meeting
*	June 28, 7:00 PM - Rochester Chapter Meeting
*	July 5-10: National Convention in New Orleans

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson, President

Pronouns: he, him, his

www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org> 

www.nfbmn.org <http://www.nfbmn.org> 

(612) 872-9363

Live the life you Want.

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