Governor Mark Dayton visits Red Lake County in his 87 Counties in 86 Days tour

The Governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton stopped in Red Lake Falls on August 23rd to hold an event during his tour of all 87 counties in the state. The purpose of the tour and these meetings with local officials is a fact finding mission to see what the needs are of the local areas. 

Kevin Harmoning, Red Lake Falls' Mayor, welcomed everyone and had everyone introduce themselves around the table before starting. 

Red Lake Falls, like many other communities in the state does not have the funding for replacing/fixing the infrastructure. Red Lake Falls has an old system built with lead pipes and is looking to fix that issue. 

Dayton replied that the request he made for grant funding was snagged in the session and he wll be bringing to the table at the next legislative sessions.

Dayton also said a few words about Senator Stumpf, who was in attendance, and is leaving at the end of his term and that he will be missed. 

The question of the crop outlook was asked, which Extension Educator Curtis Nygaard commented on. 

Dan Juhl from Juhl Energy spoke about the project they are working on with Red Lake Falls as a sponsoring partner to create and sell power using wind and solar.

Christopher Ingraham was asked how he is using his gained time since he now longer commutes 15 hours a week. He responded that he is enjoying the extra time with his twin boys and loves to see them explore and learn about the world around them. 

Ingraham went on to say that many would love to leave the big cities for rural living and it is now possible if the broadband is in place to work remotely. 

Stumpf commented that issues that affect rural areas include lack of employees for local businesses, grain prices are low, and health care concerns. Especially the price of insurance and drugs. 

Governor Dayton said he felt that Obamacare was coming to a crisis point and he favors a single payer system.

Allen Bertilrud brought affordable housing to the discussion and Stumpf commented that Granny Homes are gaining popularity, but many cities are passing rules that exclude them from a solution to housing shortages due to the feeling it will bring values down. Stump feels they are a viable option for a family needing to help an elderly person in the family stay out of a nursing home which is very costly.

Commissioner Dave Sorensen brought to the Governor's attention about the CPA funding decrease every years since 2009, which is causing the county to use up it's reserves to keep taxes resonable. Eventually, the reserves will be gone if this doesn't change.