Representative Wolgamott delivers farewell on House floor, cites workers' protections, education funding and pension work

Representative Wolgamott delivered a farewell address on the Minnesota House floor, reflecting on eight years of service and citing legislative accomplishments including a workers' compensation presumption for frontline workers, a large increase in state special-education aid and reforms to teacher pensions.

Wolgamott opened by thanking the Speaker and colleagues and read lyrics from the song "Make a Difference" by Rachel Kurtz, saying, "I want my life to make a difference." He described public service as a trust: "Each one of only 134 people in the entire state that have been sent here by our communities to make a difference," he said.

The departing lawmaker recounted his path into politics — working on campaigns after hearing state legislators speak at a college Democrats meeting — and described early setbacks in bids for office before being encouraged to run again in 2017. He credited Minority Leader Melissa Hortman for encouraging him to try a third time, which he called "the third time was the charm."

Wolgamott highlighted several policy outcomes his service helped advance. He described bipartisan work during the COVID-19 pandemic that created a workers' compensation presumption for frontline employees, saying, "We made a workers compensation presumption so that for any of our frontline workers who contracted COVID-19... it was presumed that they got it on the job and they were automatically covered under workers compensation," and said the change covered roughly "360,000 frontline workers." He framed the measure as removing an unreasonable evidentiary burden for emergency personnel, health care workers and others.

On education finance, Wolgamott said he pushed on the special-education cross-subsidy — the portion of special-education costs districts fund locally — and credited collaboration with Representative Davnie and others that in 2023 increased the state's share from about 5% to 55%. "We were able to get that number from 5% to 55%," he said, calling the change a significant improvement for students and districts.

He also cited work on the Pensions Commission to adjust teachers' retirement rules, including changes to retirement age and reductions in early-retirement penalties, saying more work remains but that the commission's changes improved retirement options for educators.

Locally, Wolgamott noted his service on the bonding committee and listed projects in his Saint Cloud district that received funding, including the Herb Ritts Hockey Centre, the Children's Museum and "the Mac." He thanked the people of Saint Cloud for electing him four times and praised his staff by name, singled out legislative assistant Tara, and urged colleagues to treat staff with respect year-round.

Wolgamott also thanked security and maintenance personnel, and offered an extended tribute to Melissa Hortman, praising her leadership and the human-centered customs she brought to the chamber. He closed by reciting the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi and offering final thanks to constituents, members and the Speaker.

The remarks were delivered on the House floor as Wolgamott concluded his final day of remarks; no formal vote or motion was recorded during this address.