Gov. Tim Walz will deliver his sixth State of the State address at the new Owatonna High School on Tuesday night, a location chosen to highlight a commitment to education funding, innovation and the power of community.

Walz, a former teacher, can be expected to take Minnesotans on a victory tour of DFL legislation from 2023 and explain how he hopes to build on the policies in the remaining three years of his term. The governor will likely repeat his refrain that he hopes to make Minnesota the best state in the nation for children and make the case that the DFL has been responsible with the state budget.

The 2023 session was such a big one for Walz that the governor has become an increasingly common presence in the national media, speaking in support of both new progressive policies and President Joe Biden's re-election campaign.

With three more years in this term, Walz can look forward. He's not given any hints about whether he will seek a third term or has national aspirations, and he's unlikely to reveal those plans Tuesday, but the speech will be parsed for clues amid the highlight reel tour of the past year.

Re-elected in November 2022 with a DFL-controlled Legislature, the governor pivoted sharply from the crises that consumed much of his first term: the COVID-19 pandemic and unrest following the murder of George Floyd.

The 2023 session focused on a series of massive policy changes, including increasing school funding, legalizing recreational marijuana, restoring voting rights to felons upon release from custody, codifying abortion rights, establishing paid family leave and creating new gun restrictions.

Last year, legislators put together a two-year budget. This year, the primary focus is a bonding bill.

The governor is also expected to make at least one policy pitch, encouraging the Legislature to pass additional gun safety regulations, including storage provisions and increased penalties for straw buyers.

Walz could also get personal, talking about his family's history with IVF and the threats to reproductive care across the country. On March 14, Walz stood beside Vice President Kamala Harris as she became the first sitting vice president to visit a clinic that provides abortion.

Because he will be in Owatonna, he will also highlight how the southern Minnesota city of 26,000 bet big on itself with the new state-of-the-art high school where all the classrooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and educational options have expanded into nursing and hydroponics to aid local employers.

Owatonna voters in 2019 approved a referendum to build the high school for more than $100 million. Federated Insurance, Wenger Corp., Life Fitness, Viracon and Mayo Clinic offset some of the expense with about $25 million in donations.

The school expanded on the traditional technical and vocational training beyond the typical wood, metal and engine shops to include a commercial kitchen and a nursing lab.

Republicans will be on hand to provide a rebuttal to the governor's address, likely renewing calls for fiscal restraint.