{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://craig.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-representative-angie-craigs-legislation-rename-local-post-office", "House Passes Representative Angie Craig\u2019s Legislation to Rename Local Post Office After Fallen South St. Paul Police Officer", "2022-12-14", "2022", "2022-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Angie Craig", "C001119", "craig.house.gov", "craig", "https://craig.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Representative Angie Craig\u2019s bill to rename the South St. Paul Post Office in honor of fallen South St. Paul Police Officer Leo Pavlak. After only four months on the force, Officer Pavlak was killed by the infamous Barker-Karpis Gang during a robbery on August 30, 1933. He is the only South St. Paul Police Officer to have been killed in the line of duty. The bill now heads to the Senate for passage.\n\nSince Officer Pavlak\u2019s death in 1933, four generations of Pavlaks have joined the ranks of Minnesota law enforcement. Robert Leo Pavlak Sr. followed in his father\u2019s footsteps, pursuing a career as a police officer in St. Paul. One of his grandsons, Robert, was a Ramsey County Deputy \u2013 while another one of his grandsons, David, was a St. Paul Police Officer. And finally, Officer Pavlak\u2019s great-grandsons, Luke and Ryan, have continued this legacy as police officers in the Twin Cities area.\n\nYesterday, Rep. Angie Craig spoke in favor of the bill on the House floor. Video of those remarks can be found here.\n\n\u201c89 years ago, South St. Paul Police Officer Leo Pavlak lost his life protecting his community \u2013 and in the years since, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have continued building upon his legacy of service,\u201d said Representative Craig. \u201cI was proud to see this bill passed out of the House today \u2013 and I\u2019m calling on the Senate to pass this bill to help us recognize not only Officer Pavlak\u2019s service and dedication, but that of the entire Pavlak family.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur family is grateful that the U.S. House of Representatives passed this important bill, bringing us one step closer to renaming the South St. Paul Post Office in honor of our beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Leo Pavlak,\u201d said Bob Pavlak, the grandson of Officer Pavlak. \u201cThe renaming of this post office offers an important opportunity to honor the service and sacrifice of all law enforcement in our community. Our family would like to thank Representative Craig, South St. Paul Police Chief Brian Wicke and former South St. Paul Police Chief Bill Messerich for their dedicated work to seeing this bill passed out of the House.\u201d\n\nRepresentative Craig\u2019s bill is part of a bipartisan, bicameral effort to honor Officer Pavlak. Earlier in June, Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith introduced a companion bill in the Senate. Craig, Klobuchar and Smith were joined in introducing this legislation by their colleagues in the Minnesota delegation \u2013 Representatives Dean Phillips, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Brad Finstad and Pete Stauber. The legislation is also supported by the Pavlak family and local leaders in South St. Paul.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:32:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://craig.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-representative-angie-craigs-legislation-rename-local-post-office"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.923647105693817, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}