In April, as the DFL Cook County Organized Unit O&I officer, I delivered a list of comments and questions to U.S. Representative Rick Nolan’s office on Superior Street in Duluth. This list was typed up by me with comments from a couple of dozen phone calls I made to better understand what others in our community thought of current legislation.
Here is a summary of comments received:
. I am so proud to be a Minnesotan, especially our policies for education.
. It is very important to me as a constituent for you to support our Democrat president.
. I am concerned about the runoff in the St. Louis River basin, which goes directly to Lake Superior.
. I want to thank Representative Rick Nolan for his continued support to students and Cook County Higher Ed. I also want to thank him for his continued support of the rural health centers and clinics, such as Sawtooth Mountain Clinic.
. What is the current status of transporting oil in relationship to agriculture on highways, rail and pipeline in the State of Minnesota? And what are the future needs?
. I am glad to hear small business may be getting some protection from financial disaster. I question the conservative’s definition of a small business. I hope this will not turn into another tax loophole.
. Great news for Duluth having the new facility for Cirrus aircraft.
. I don’t see the point in hunting wolves, when it is already legal to kill any wolf threatening the life of a person or livestock. We don’t know if they are at sustainable numbers yet. The time line has been cut short.
. Thank you for working to defeat the Trans- Pacific Partnership. You have seen for yourself the damage done by NAFTA.
. I am pleased to know you continually work to bring peace to this country and are not taken in by the military and its backers.
. Any fulltime employee should not live in poverty. I did this my entire working career. I worked for small family restaurants, but this is not a good reason to be the working poor.
. I do not understand this benefit of the Keystone pipeline you have written about. One reason for not supporting this idea is all the money to be spent on the dead fossil fuel industry. As a nation, we should looking to the future and supporting green technologies. All fossil fuel companies most stop getting taxpayer money now.
. As a member of the transportation committee, you must see the need to renew our infrastructure. Time for an Eisenhower type improvement plan.
. Thank you for all you do to support the physical and mental health of our veterans. They deserve our best efforts.
. What is our federal government doing to encourage and help new cottage industries and light manufacturing on the Iron Range? Their mining jobs appear to be unreliable.
. What can the federal government do to repair the flooded tailings basin on the Iron Range near Ely? Could that be a Super Fund item?
. There is no safe way to transport oil. Ships run aground. Trains derail. Pipes leak. Fossil fuel is old technology.
. We do not want non-ferrous mining.
. What can you tell us about tax reform that will, at least, close up loopholes for the most wealthy and the non-patriot international corporations loyal only to their own balance sheet?
. What are you doing to turn the tide on financial inequality?
. Can we get back to a United States Postal Service that is not expected to be a private and profitable business? It is the nation’s post office for pity sakes.
. I appreciate efforts to bring back the Frank Dodge 60 rules to protect us from wild west financial institutions.
Christina Kraus
Grand Marais
Leave a Reply