Third in a series
Editor's note: In keeping with this site's focus on Greater Minnesota outside of the Range, I asked DFL gubernatorial candidate campaigns to submit statements from non-metro supporters. The writers were asked to focus on the merits of their candidates for outstate voters.
The responses are published in the order they were received by Bluestem Prairie.
by Thomas Trehus
This year I will be participating in my first ever-gubernatorial election, and I am strongly supporting Rep. Paul Thissen. Growing up on a farm in rural Southeastern Minnesota, I wanted a candidate who understood the issues facing Greater Minnesota. Too often Greater Minnesota gets ignored.
In the meantime, potholes consume highways and family farms dwindle. Small public schools like my own in Spring Grove are left with a single second language offered and declining advanced placement courses. The resiliency and togetherness of the small Minnesotan community is what keeps towns like mine going—towns with a population of less than a thousand, towns with one grocery store, one bank, and a few mom and pop eateries. I want a governor who doesn’t ignore the concerns of Greater Minnesota, but embraces them and understands them so we can move forward with common sense solutions.
There are a number of issues and concerns important to me and to many Minnesotans that Paul Thissen understands and will fix as governor. Paul knows that the number one priority of the next governor is to get people working again. He understands that roads and bridges in rural areas need to be replaced. There is no exception. Paul knows that in order to moving the state into the 21st century economy, high-speed Internet access is a must. Rural schools should be provided with the same technology as schools in the Twin Cities.
It’s simply not acceptable when families lose their farm because of unpaid medical bills. Right here in Minnesota, 240,000 families with insurance pay more than 25% of their income on health care. Paul Thissen is dedicated to quality, affordable health care for every Minnesotan. As chairman of the House Health and Human Services committee last legislative session, Paul authored the Children’s Health Security Act, giving 40,000 children the chance to see a nurse or a doctor. He wants to shift the focus of doctors and hospitals to preventative treatment, accessibility, and portability.
As a first year college student, I worry about the enormous amount of debt I will be left with once I graduate. Paul Thissen is dedicated to making college more affordable and accessible for all Minnesotans. In the legislature Paul authored a bill that would make a portion of student loan payments tax deductible for graduates of Minnesota colleges that live and work in Minnesota after graduation.
The concerns of Greater Minnesota are far too important to be left ignored, and Paul understands that a thriving Minnesota means we have a thriving greater Minnesota. We need a recognized leader and we need Minnesota to lead once more; Paul Thissen is that leader.
Thomas Trehus, who grew up in Houston County's Wilmington Township, is a freshman at the University of Minnesota.
Photo: Trehus staffing the Houston County DFL booth at the Houston County Fair.
Other posts in the series:
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