Citizen involvement is important

State Sen. Carla Nelson stopped by the Kasson City Hall last Friday morning to meet with local residents in a “listening session.” While the event was sponsored by the Kasson Chamber of Commerce, there were representatives of neighboring cities including Mantorville, Dodge Center, Hayfield, and Claremont. Many were businesspeople but there were also representatives of civic and non-profit groups and citizens.
Nelson said she was there to listen to what the people, her constituents, had to say both about the 2023 Legislative session and the upcoming one. And the opinions and comments filled the entire hour allotted for the discussion.
Most of those attending agreed that concerns included how MnDOT was communicating with locals in regards to the upcoming Highway 57 reconstruction this summer, concerns about highway speed limits between Kasson and Mantorville, specifically at the roundabout intersection that connects Kasson-Mantorville High School and the Kwik Trip across the highway, changes in charitable gambling and e-tabs, and the added work in keeping track of employee hours for the new sick leave and family leave legislation.
No doubt if a different group of residents had attended many of the concerns would be the same, but there would be many others.
A major takeaway that I had from the session was that Nelson, and her colleagues in state government, are interested in what citizens have to say even when that may go against their own personal opinions. But the catch is, if they are to know what their constituents want, someone has to tell them.
That means all of us need to pay attention to what is going on in the Legislature, what is working and what is not working. Nelson has said numerous times since the 2023 session ended last May that she sees this as a “fix-it” session as well as a capital investment and bonding session. Nelson is one of those of the opinion that some of the laws passed last session were not as carefully vetted as they should have been and may have consequences that were not thoroughly discussed. It was obvious at the listening session that many people agree with her.
But that means that although this session is an opportunity to look again at things that may not be working, it also is true that legislators may not know what those things are unless someone tells them. Not every legislator can possibly know every potential impact of what they do.
Friday’s discussion also touched on some ways to do this. One person said maybe more people would be able to attend a listening session if it were held in the evening, when more people who are unable to take off work would be able to come. A good point, and one Nelson agreed with saying she was planning on attending some evening discussions.
That is one way but there are others also.
If you have a concern or suggestion, why not contact your legislator directly. Their telephone numbers in St. Paul and email addresses are readily available. They may not personally answer the phone at the office, but staff members will take your message and relay it. Letters to the Editor of local media can also be helpful. Legislators do pay attention to what is being said in the media and those letters just might get others thinking about a subject and deciding to take their own actions.
Also, most legislators do communicate with their constituents on a regular basis. Some send updates via email to those who request them, and others send frequent columns and news releases to the media.
It’s probably not as common during the session when legislators are at the capitol, but during the rest of the year they often turn up at local events which is a good time to talk to them personally.
In short, there are plenty of ways to get your message across to those making the laws. But it does require some time and effort to do so.
We read and hear a lot these days about our government at all levels being dysfunctional, or unresponsive, or any number of things. That might be true but one way to stop that is for everyone, not just the loudest or extremes on all sides of an issue, but all of us to pay attention to what is going on, what we like and don’t like, and letting our government leaders know.
This session, we here at the DCI will do our best to help you by keeping you informed.