2015-16 MYC Members Sworn In By Rep. Dean Urdahl

ST. PAUL, MINN. –On Sunday, September 27, Minnesota Alliance With Youth hosted a Swearing In Ceremony at the Holiday Inn Bloomington to honor the 12 new members and 21 returning members of the Minnesota Youth Council. The Minnesota Youth Council, a collaboration made up of youth and adult partners from each of the eight Minnesota Congressional districts, provides young people with a forum to exercise their voice by connecting and mobilizing youth voice and action through partnerships with the Minnesota Legislature, Youthprise, and the Minnesota Department of Education.

Rep
resentative Dean Urdahl, R-Minn. from Grove City and one of the four official legislative liaisons to the Minnesota Youth Council, led the participants in the Minnesota Youth Council pledge and officially swore them in, asking them to commit to serve as a liaison for youth around the state to the legislature and the governor. He also highlighted the importance of having goals and staying committed to the work, even in times when you are not initially successful. Participants also heard from representatives from the offices of U.S. Sens. Klobuchar and Franken, and Sen. Kevin Dahle, as well from staff at the Minnesota Department of Education and Youthprise.

In 2013, the Minnesota Legislature passed into law the Minnesota Youth Council Committee Bill, which establishes the Minnesota Youth Council as a voice for youth to provide advice and recommendations to the legislature and the governor on issues affecting youth. The Minnesota Youth Council Committee selects bills in the House and Senate for consideration for a public hearing, proposes youth legislation, provides advisory opinions to the legislature on bills heard before the committee and prepares a youth omnibus bill.