ST. PAUL, Minn. –The Minnesota House voted 126-1 for Juneteenth as a new state holiday to commemorate the final abolition of slavery on June 19, 1865, under President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. It was on that day that word reached the last outpost in the confederate South that slavery officially was over. Among blacks it’s come to be called Juneteenth. It’s been a federal holiday since 2021. The lone opponent in the Minnesota House was outlier freshman Steve Jacob of Elba, who was elected from northern and western townships in Winona County. The breakdown among southeast Minnesota representatives:
Monday this year. The proposed holiday for government employees in 2023 falls on Monday the 19th. Private employers would be asked to honor the holiday also. .
For Juneteenth
Greg Davids, R-26B (Preston)
Kim Hicks, D-25A (Rochester)
Tina Liebling, D-24B (Rochester)
Patricia Mueller, R-23B (Austin)
Bjorn Olson, R-22A (Elmore)
Gene Pelowski, D-26A (Winona)
John Petersburg, R-19B (Waseca)
Brian Pfarr, R-22B (LeSueur)
Joe Schomacker, R-21A (Luverne)
Andy Smith, D-25B (Rochester)
Against
Steve Jacob, R-20B (Elba)
Not voting
Peggy Bennett, R-23A (Albert Lea)
Marj Fogelman, R-21B (Fulda)