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Minnesota House opens 2026 session; three members sworn in and chamber adjourns to Feb. 19
Summary
The Minnesota House convened for the opening of its 2026 legislative session in Saint Paul. A chaplain led a prayer, three newly elected representatives were sworn in, several noncontroversial motions and bill introductions were announced, and Representative Niska moved to adjourn until Feb. 19, 2026.
The Minnesota House of Representatives convened for the opening of its 2026 legislative session in Saint Paul on Feb. 18, beginning with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance before formal business.
Chaplain Veil Olson delivered an invocation based on the Prayer of St. Francis, asking members to "be an instrument of your peace" and to seek to console, pardon and bring hope. The presiding officer then identified Olson as a former state representative from Duluth, Minnesota.
Presiding officers welcomed Girl Scout troops from Champlin, Maple Grove and Brooklyn Park to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The House administered the oath of office to three members: Representative Buck of District 47A, Representative Lee X of District 34B and Luger Nikolai of District 64A; the presiding officer said their certificates of election were on file.
The clerk closed the roll and reported that a quorum was present. The clerk read the journal of the preceding day (Journal of the House, 94th Session, 2025, Monday, May 19, 2025); with no objection the House approved the journal as corrected by the chief clerk.
On introductions, the chief clerk reported a set of house files for first reading described in the transcript as "house files 33 48 through 34 42." No bill titles, sponsors or substantive details were provided in the record.
The presiding officer noted copies of noncontroversial motions were available at the House desk and online; hearing no objection, the House agreed to take action on those motions first and they prevailed by unanimous consent.
Representative Niska made two procedural motions late in the session. First, Niska moved that when the House adjourns today it adjourn until 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026; the presiding officer called for a voice vote, members said "Aye," and the motion prevailed. Niska then moved that the House do now adjourn; the motion again passed by voice vote and the House stood adjourned to the Feb. 19 date.
There were no recorded roll-call tallies or recorded debates in the portions of the record provided; the session record in this transcript is largely ceremonial and procedural in nature and does not include substantive floor debate or bill-by-bill votes.
