Dear Neighbors,
It’s hard to believe that the first week of November has come to an end. I hope that you have taken time this week to be outside and enjoy the warm weather.
Over the past several weeks, I attended a number of meetings and tours across the district in order to continue fostering lines of communication between myself, constituents, and the issues affecting our communities. Here is a recap of a handful of those meetings.
House Committee Chairman Visits District
Last Monday, October 26th, House Aging and Long-Term Care Committee Chairman, Joe Schomacker visited two area nursing homes. The first stop of the day was at the Evansville Care Center in Evansville with a second stop later that morning at the Minnewaska Community Health Services in Starbuck.
Chairman Schomacker and I took the time to visit these two facilities to hear firsthand, from employees and administrators, about the challenges facing rural nursing homes. In addition to this, we also discussed the historic investments the legislature made in our rural care centers that will work to address these challenges.
Pictured from left to right: Matt Berg, Rep. Paul Anderson, Christopher Knoll, Rep. Joe Schomacker, Rep. Jeff Backer
Pictured left to right: Vicki Neterval, Arlynn Johnson, Brandon Borgstrom, Chair Joe Schomacker, Rep. Jeff Backer
Speaker Daudt Attends Township Officers Roundtable
Late last month, House Speaker Kurt Daudt and I hosted two roundtable discussions with local township officers. The meetings were held in Wendell and Alberta. At the meeting, Speaker Daudt and I were given the opportunity to connect with township officers and discus a number of issues ranging from transportation funding to broadband.
Thank you Speaker Daudt for taking the time to visit the area!
Pictured is Rep. Backer, Speaker Daudt, and local township officers
Broadband Expansion
On Thursday, October 29th, Sen. Westrom and I hosted a panel of industry experts with years of experience in telecommunications and broadband policy to highlight investments from Minnesota's Border to Border Broadband Expansion Program and federal Connect America Fund (CAF) grants. These programs are making an historic $96 million investment in expanding access to quality broadband service in rural areas—including portions of Grant, Traverse, Stevens and Wilkin counties.
Fortunately, this is just the beginning of expanded access. The CAF broadband grants will bring $86 million per year to our state for five years. Paired with state funding, the investment in rural broadband access could easily exceed $100 million per year for half a decade.
In total, we ended up having nearly 60 individuals in attendance to discuss this important issue. Thank you to House Commerce Committee Chairman, Joe Hoppe, and others for taking time out of your busy schedules to come out to Herman and speak with folks about the need for broadband expansion here in western Minnesota.
Thanks to those of you who joined Sen. Westrom and myself at this important event!
Childcare Listening Session
On Tuesday, I hosted the Greater Minnesota Economic and Workforce Development Policy Committee in Morris for a childcare listening session. The goal of the listening session was to have an open platform for parents and child care providers to come together to brainstorm solutions that will help increase access to affordable, high quality child care.
Thank you to those of you who came out to this event and took part in this important conversation. Ensuring families in our communities have access to quality, affordable child care is a top priority. With families and providers in our community, together, we can increase access to high-quality child care services and bring about positive change that will benefit families and providers in Greater Minnesota.
Also, a big thank you to the legislators that made the trip to Morris to participate in this discussion—Rep. Brian Johnson, Rep. Steve Green, Rep. Tim Miller, Rep. Ron Kresha, Rep. Mary Franson, and Rep. Paul Anderson.
Staying in Touch
Once again, thank you for the opportunity to serve as your representative in St. Paul. Even though session is officially done for the year, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding legislation or a state agency. It would be an honor to speak with you.
Sincerely,
Jeff