Nursing Home Update

This last week I visited with Pat Vincent, and Maureen Greden, Director of Nursing at Three Links Care Center and later with Kyle Nordeen of The Northfield Retirement Center.  Our conversations seemed awfully familiar.  Many of the issues we talked about were the same ones we discussed four years earlier.  The nursing home and long-term […]

Citizen meeting

Tuesday I met with a group of neighbors who had numerous concerns, from transportation to education, but also interesting insights on the immigration issue.  A number of them were immigrants from diverse places across the world:  One from Mexico, one from Malaysia another from Thailand and a fourth from Ghana.  All of them work in […]

Wellstone’s Birthday

Today, July 21st , would be Paul Wellstone’s 62nd birthday.  Those of you who want to honor his birthday may want to donate a gift to the organization founded by his sons after the plane crash.  Wellstone Action.

Healthcare Discussion

  Monday evening I met with several voters and talked about their experiences with the health care system.  They described a system that at best is uneven.  On the one hand, those who had encountered the services of the Mayo Clinic raved about service and before and after care.  Their use of technology in record […]

Valuing Our Natural Resources

Sunday my church made its annual trek to the Valley Grove Church where we worshiped in the beautiful old church surrounded by ripening fields and restored prairie.  I volunteered to take the Sunday school class of 16 mixed age (4 to 8) students, which began with a song and a walk outside, looking for things […]

CAMPAIGNING IN JULY

Yes it's been hot but July brings parades and festivals that continue through the rest of the Summer.  On July 4th a number of my supporters joined me for the Veseli Parade.  It was great fun and the response was great too several times along the parade route supporters from the Lonsdale Veseli area cheered […]

Our Health Care System from a Nurses Perspective

Recently I went with Functional Medicine Associates and local nurses to talk about health care from their perspective.  It was inspiring to hear their stories and their concern for their patients and the health and well being of neighbors and citizens.  Nurses are in a position of direct care and see daily the results of […]

Belle Plaine Cookout

State Senate candidate, Jessica Peterson and I handed out fresh picked strawberries and chatted with citizens at the annual start of summer Cookout last Friday in Belle Plaine.  We were across the street from Mayor Tom Meger, who handed out his famous Dill pickles on a stick. Dark clouds kept threatening rain but it held […]

Fishing Trip

Nothing seems so restorative to my busy mind as the company of good friends and pulling walleye from a beautiful lake beneath a clear blue sky.  Once a year I have the pleasure of joining three friends from my work in the state alternative education association for a fishing trip. I read some of the […]