The environment is very important to me, as it is to all Minnesotans. Clean air and water are essential for not only our health, but the health of the plants and animals we depend on for food, clothing, shelter and fuel.
Education:
Learning is one of my passions. I love it. The education I received at Marshall Public Schools was top-notch and the teachers there are one of the main reasons I love learning. I plan to make all public schools in District 15A even better for every student, parent, teacher, administrator, custodian, food-service person, councelor, teacher's assistant, para-professional, and everyone who makes our school districts some of the best in the state and nation.
Attracting more teachers to reduce class sizes, making sure the kids have the resources they need to succeed, making sure the custodial staff have the tools, equipment and the people they need to provide kids with a safe and clean learning environment, supporting our special education teachers by providing them with the resources and support they need, and most importantly keeping the children safe and healthy will all be top priorities.
Opportunities for Young People and Growing our Communities:
It's no secret many young people decide to leave our area. I have many friends who have made that decision. The reasons for doing so are many and varied, but most of the time it boils down to not having enough opportunities. I will work my hardest to bring more opportunities that young people find appealing. By doing so, I believe we can convince more young people to stick around and attract others to move to our area. Every community in our district is different, so the solutions have to be different, too.
I will work with every single community in our district to make sure they have the resources and support they need in order to grow in the ways they need. I will not tell them what they do or do not need, but I will give my input if it is wanted.
Infrastructure:
Infrastructure is essential for growing communities. If you select me as your state representative, I will work my hardest to make sure our communities receive investments from the state to repair and improve existing infrastructure and build new infrastructure where it's needed. Maintaining and building this up will help attract many types of businesses as many of their infrastructure needs will already be in place. It will also be easier and cheaper for families to settle in the area, to build houses and to grow as a family.
This means bringing more life, love, laughter, opportunities and prosperity into our communities.
Police, EMS and Firefighting:
I don't think I need to tell you how important these people are to our communities. I will work my hardest to make sure every police department, every ambulance service, and every fire department has the resources they need in order to serve their communities to the best of their abilities. I will work to make sure every single police officer, medic, and firefighter has what they need. Which means good pay with great benefits, the best training we can provide, the equipment to keep them and the people they are serving safe, and the support networks that they need in order to feel confident in doing their jobs. I will work to make sure they have access to the care they need, whether they're injured on or off the job.
Environment:
We already have some very good environmental regulations and laws, so I will work to improve these laws by making them easier to understand. I'll help make it easier to know if something or some practice is harmful, and I will work on incentivizing behavior that promotes a healthy environment for all of us.
Minnesota wouldn't be Minnesota if we couldn't fully enjoy the great outdoors, so we need to take these matters seriously.