Statewide Award for Hometown Hero Steve Bot

Floor Speech

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Mr. EMMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate St. Michael's city administrator, Steve Bot, for receiving the 2019 James F. Miller Leadership Award from the League of Minnesota Cities.

This award is the most prestigious award for nonelected public servants in the State of Minnesota. Our office has the honor of working with Steve through his role as chair of the I-94 West Corridor Coalition which works to expand and improve this vital transportation route in Minnesota's Sixth District.

We recently joined Steve at St. Michael's new public works facility and saw firsthand the incredible work he is doing in St. Michael. It is evident that Steve's efforts to improve his community have been noticed by many, at home and around the State of Minnesota.

I congratulate Steve on this well-deserved award and thank him for everything he does for our community. Recognizing Lake Ridge Care Center for 100 Years of Excellent Care

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Mr. EMMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lake Ridge Care Center in Buffalo, Minnesota, for providing outstanding care for our seniors.

This year marks the center's 100th anniversary. For a century, this facility has offered short- and long-term care for older adults. Since a large number of residents are not mobile, the staff of this 100-year- old facility found a new way to get residents moving by starting a ``Daily Boogie Walk'' with music playing over a sound system.

With music requests from the 1950s and beyond, residents have been motivated to exercise. As a result, the center's quality measures rose from 41 percent to 70 percent of residents walking. They rose by 130 spots in our State's rankings.

Congratulations to the staff at Lake Ridge Care Center for their innovation and going above and beyond, and thanks for caring for our seniors with a profound level of care. Congratulating Bryan Schafer on 33 Years of Service

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Mr. EMMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Bryan Schafer, development director of planning and community for the city of Blaine. He has done an incredible job. Bryan is officially retiring after 33 years of service.

Bryan started with the city in June of 1986 as a code compliance officer. Later, he became the city planner. Since 2000, he has been the director for the city. Bryan has left a lasting impact on our community.

Bryan's fingerprints are on the largest projects in Blaine, from the TPC Twin Cities golf course, which is home of the 3M Open--PGA Tour event, to the largest housing development Blaine has seen thus far, The Lakes, which added revenue and growing families to the city. Most notably, Bryan secured 580 acres of land that now serves as the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Bryan for his service to the city. Good luck to him in his retirement.

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