The Austin Daily News reports in Walz: Farm Bill passed unanimously (meaning passed in the House Ag Committee, not the floor of the House) that Walz is earning praise beyond his work on the House Veterans committee:
Walz's comments came after the first of five panel discussions Friday and after every one of the ag, energy, conservation and rural development panelists praised his leadership as a freshman congressman, representing Minnesota's 1st District and various legislative initiatives he has introduced in Congress.
Already the recipient of much praise for his veterans' legislation, the freshman congressman could feel comfortable hearing compliments outside the more comfortable veterans affair arena.
The Congressman's critics might claim that the panelists were cherry picked to support Walz, but that claim is simply false. The panelists were picked for their expertise, and ranged from the head of the Minnesota Farm Bureau to George Crocker of the North American Water Office.Severak participants and audience members, for example, spoke toward the need to improve rail systems in the area; the federal loan application by DM & E for upgrading and extending its tracks, had been a hot button issues during the campaign.
There's more:
The congressman said Austin was a perfect choice for the economic summit.
“This summit will bring together a host of experts to focus on southern Minnesota's economic opportunities and challenges, and I am very interested to see what ideas develop during this important dialogue,” Walz said before the Friday conference attended by 150 participants.
This number seems low. We got the head count from the organizers, and they said that nearly 300 had registered for the conference, with about 200 tickets collected for lunch.
The lineup of panelists convened southern Minnesota's business community, renewable energy experts, local and state level policy makers, transportation professionals, health care experts, and innovation and technology developers to discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with the regional economic prosperity.
Topics included energy security, opportunities for local farmers and ranchers, thriving main street businesses, critical needs in transportation infrastructure, and the challenges facing health care and education systems.
That means an eclectic audience. Business suits and blue jeans mixed in the Holiday Inn grand ballroom.
When Walz talks about transparency in policy making at the grassroots level, he's not joking. Suits and jeans? It's today's Southern Minnesota.
Comments