“Great Northwest” descends on capitol
KAITY HOLTMAN/DAILY FORUM
More than 300 constituents of northwest Missouri gathered Tuesday, Jan. 31 and Wednesday, Feb. 1 in Jefferson City for Great Northwest Days at the Capitol. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the annual event.
With legislative priorities in hand, constituents from across the 18 most northwest counties of Missouri arrived in Jefferson City on Tuesday, Jan. 31 as part of the 15th annual Great Northwest Days.
Nodaway county represented about 40 of more than 300 regional representatives from Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Daviess, Dekalb, Gentry, Grundy, Holt, Livingston, Linn, Mercer, Nodaway, Putnam, Sullivan and Worth counties.
Kicking off the two-day event was the introduction of the group to the House of Representatives and the Senate. The group split into two to represent in both places and were announced and welcomed.
Throughout the event, community members met with their area legislators and had conversations with others from around the state, discussing northwest Missouri’s legislative priorities.
As in most years, the regional priorities include investments in education, broadband internet, and infrastructure.
On specific priority given this year is the creation of an Office of Rural Policy in the Office of Administration.
“The fabric of America is rural communities,” reads the official document given to legislators at the two-day event. “It is here where generations of families worked together to plant, nurture, and harvest crops on small family homesteads. Our nation grew as a result of this hard work. Now, as a society changes, we cannot abandon our history. One way to address this is through the creation of an Office of Rural Policy in the Office of Administration.”
As rural northwest Missouri faces “outmigration,” regional leaders believe that the serious needs of rural Missouri are not being adequately addressed by existing programs, claiming many of which are built as if one size fits all.
A Rural Policy office would be an executive department and serve as a champion for rural issues.
At the luncheon, the group heard from Pat Curry, project manager of Community Economic and Entrepreneurial Development (ExCEED) with the University of Missouri Extension.
Curry focused on the economic status of the northwest region in 2016, in comparison to before and during the recession from 2007-2010.
“Seventy five out of 114 Missouri counties lost population between 2010 and 2015,” Curry said. “This is the largest widespread loss since the 1980s. Rural areas experienced the largest proportional losses.”
While the rumblings following Curry’s presentation repeated the word depressing throughout the day, the reality of jobs, wages, an other economic drivers was something the region representatives knew they needed to hear.
Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel said Maryville is a bright spot in the region.
“While the realities statewide are harsh, Maryville and Nodaway County are well positioned for the future,” McDanel said. “Industry in the area continues to thrive, and as a community, we will work to support the retention and growth of those jobs.”
At the evening’s networking event, Nodaway County Economic Development, Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Maryville, the City of Maryville worked together to showcase Mozingo Lake Recreation Park and Northwest Missouri State University, as well as manufacturers and businesses from across Nodaway County.
More than 225 legislative guests attended the networking event to visit county booths. That number includes nine senators and 17 senate staff members, 85 representatives and 85 house staff members, and people from 25 state departments.
“Great Northwest Days is a fantastic event that showcases our region’s support and spirit to legislators around the state,” McDanel said. “While individually our voices may be small, collectively we can make an impact and better our communities.”
McDanel gave kudos to the event organizers, Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce, and Leadership Maryville for “making the 2017 event one of the best yet.”
A regional breakfast on Wednesday featured speaker Charlie Shields, CEO of Truman Medical Center and president of the Missouri State Board of Education. Shields offered somewhat of a state of the legislature, and a look into how that impacts the region’s legislative priorities brought to the event.
KAITY HOLTMAN/DAILY FORUM
Senator Dan Hegeman talks with Northwest A/V’s Gentry Martin, who helped with the Nodaway County booth as a representative of Leadership Maryville. The annual reception had a Mardi Gras theme and featured booths from every county in northwest Missouri.
Nodaway County representatives join together for a photo at their booth during the annual Mardi Gras reception, with Senator Dan Hegeman and Representative Allen Andrews.
