Advocating for Tribal Issues / The End-of-Life Option Act

Senator Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, was recently elected to serve as the chair of the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, a group that works to raise the profile of tribal issues in state legislatures and to improve public policy. She joins Capitol Report moderator Shannon Loehrke to talk about the needs of indigenous people and to outline her priorities as the new leader of the caucus.

The people of Oregon voted in 1994 to approve medical aid in dying, the first state to do so. Since then, nine more states and the District of Columbia have followed suit, either by ballot initiative, court action or law change. Representative Heather Edelson, DFL-Edina, is author of the End-of-Life Option Act, a bill that would allow terminally ill adults who qualify the option of ending their suffering. She joins Shannon to explain.

Also in the program, Senator Ron Latz and members of Jewish advocacy groups called a press conference to condemn the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement. Plus, the State Emblems Redesign Commission met to whittle down the thousands of state flag and seal entries to six flag finalists and five seal finalists. Finally, when the current Minnesota State Capitol opened to the public in 1905, about a quarter of Minnesotans hailed from Germany. The Capitol's Rathskeller is a tribute to that heritage.