Reflecting on Senate Career, Reforming Child Protection, Right to Try

Lieutenant Governor Michelle Fischbach was first elected to the Minnesota Senate by special election in 1996, and served as state senator for district 13 until her swearing in as Lieutenant Governor in May of this year. She joins Capitol Report moderator Shannon Loehrke to reflect on her 22 years of service in the Minnesota Senate.

According to the Pioneer Press, black children in Minnesota are three times more likely to become involved with child protection and be removed from their homes than white children. Last session, Senator Jeff Hayden was co-author of the Minnesota African American Family Preservation Act, and he joins Shannon to explain the issue in greater detail.

Minnesota was among the initial adopters of Right to Try legislation which allows terminally ill patients to access experimental therapies before they have been approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). In May, President Donald Trump signed a federal Right to Try bill into law. Representative Nick Zerwas was at that signing ceremony, and he joins Shannon to talk about the importance of the new law and how his life was saved as a result of an experimental procedure.