MLC Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee

• “Insights from Minnesota’s Rural Development Commissions,” Dawn Hegland, Executive Director, Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission
• “Rural Development Policy in Minnesota,” Julie Tesch, President and CEO, Center for Rural Policy & Development
• “Building a Rural Development Ecosystem,” Jen Wagner-Lahr, Senior Director of Business Development and Commercialization, Agricultural Utilization Research Institute

MLC Economic Development & Infrastructure Committee

• “Building Codes and Housing Reform,” Nick Erickson, Executive Director, Housing Affordability Institute
• “Building for the Future: Policies to Increase Housing Production,” Elizabeth Glidden, Deputy Executive Director, Minnesota Housing Partnership

MLC Education & Workforce Committee

• “Midwestern Education Attainment and Returns on Investment,” John Burczek Dreier, Vice President of Policy and Research, Midwestern Higher Education Compact

MLC Energy & Environment Committee

• “Behind the Meter Generation and the Grid,” Jeff Ostermayer, Executive Vice President, HBW Resources
• “Bring Your Power Solutions and Legislative Solutions,” Matthew Land, Senior Associate, Rocky Mountain Institute

MLC Health & Human Services Committee

• “Top Issues in Medicaid, 2026,” Robin Rudowitz, Senior Vice President and Director of Medicaid and the Uninsured, KFF

MLC Midwest-Canada Relations Committee

• “Trends in Cross-Border Trade and Tourism,” Jon Davis, Policy Analyst, CSG Midwest; and Lauren Bennett McGinty, Executive Director, Explore Minnesota

MLC Chair’s Initiative: Literacy in Action

• “Literacy in Action,” Carey Wright, State Superintendent of Schools, Maryland State Department of Education

Whither U.S.-Canada Trade?

• “Tariffs, Trade and U.S.-Canada Relations,” Christopher Sands, Director of the Center for U.S.-Canada Studies, John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

MLC Corrections & Public Safety Forum: Addressing an Aging State Prison Population

• “The Problem of Aging Prison Populations and How States are Seeking to Address It,” David D’Amora, Senior Policy Advisor, CSG Justice Center; and Robert Hamill, Policy Manager, CSG Justice Center

Learning Lab: Child Welfare Systems and State Legislatures

• “Legislator Interactions with Child Welfare” and “Safe at Home: Strategies to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect,” presentations by Janée Harvey, Director of Family Well-Being and Protection Division, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services; and Peter Pecora, Managing Director of Research Services, Casey Family Programs

Building Trust Across Differences: Strategies for a Stronger State Government

• “Building Trust Across Differences,” Tom Niehaus, Former Ohio Legislator and Senate President; and Fred Strahorn, Former Ohio Legislator and House Minority Leader

Healthcare AI in 2026: From Novelty to Normalcy

• “Healthcare AI in 2026: From Novelty to Normalcy,” Robert Wachter, Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Healthcare Challenges and Opportunities for the Rural Midwest

• “Strengthening Rural Healthcare Through Locally Driven Solutions and Partnerships,” Dr. Jason Caron, President and CEO, Sanford Bemidji
• “Stabilizing Rural Hospitals,” Alyssa Meller, Chief Operation Officer, National Rural Health Resource Center
• “Kittson Healthcare and the Frontier Reality,” Andrea Swenson, CEO, Kittson Healthcare

Healthcare Cost Containment

• “Healthcare Cost Trends and Policy Strategies,” Alex Caldwell, Director, Minnesota Center for Health Care Affordability; Sheila Kiscaden, Co-Chair, Minnesota Health Care Affordability Advisory Task Forc; and Michelle Wilson, Agency Policy Specialist, Minnesota Department of Health Health Economics Program
• “Indiana’s Extraordinary Healthcare Policy Journey,” Randa Deaton, President and CEO, Employers’ Forum of Indiana

Protecting the Privacy and Data of Consumers in Healthcare and Beyond

• “The U.S. Consumer Privacy Law Landscape,” Jordan Francis, Senior Policy Counsel for U.S. Legislation, Future of Privacy Forum

Luncheon Presentation

• “Remembering the American Revolution,” Michael Hattem, Yale University

MLC Fiscal Affairs Forum: Planning for Uncertainty — State Budgets and Fiscal Federalism

• “State Fiscal Futures,” Shelby Kerns, Executive Director, National Association of State Budget Officers
• “Planning for Uncertainty and Fiscal Federalism,” Deborah Carroll, Professor and Director, Government Finance Research Center, University of Illinois Chicago

Prediction Markets and Government Oversight

• “Introduction and Overview,” Asa Craig, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Arnold Ventures
• “Prediction Markets,” combined presentations of Iyla Beylin, Associate Professor of Law, Seton Hall Law School; and Melinda Roth, Visiting Professor, New England Law Boston

Learning Lab: AI in the Classroom (presented by AAAS Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues)

• “About the AAAS Epi Center,” Kate Stoll, Project Director, AAAS EPI Center
• “AI in Education,” H. Chad Lane, Professor of Educational Psychology and Computer Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Data Centers: A Balancing Act

• “What Americans Are Thinking About Data Centers,” Reid Wilson, Founder and Editor, Pluribus News

MLC Business Session

• “Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) Return on Investment,” Susan Heegaard, President, MHEC

Site Tour and Sessions at Minneapolis American Indian Center

• “Tribal-State Relations Training,” State of Minnesota
• “Family Services Programs,” Minneapolis American Indian Center