Priorities set for Great Northwest Days
FILE PHOTO
Former 1st District state Rep. Mike Thomson, in jacket and tie at center right, is shown with last year’s Leadership Maryville class during a tour of the Missouri Capitol during Great Northwest Days in early 2016. The 2017 event, during which government and civic leaders from across northwest Missouri meet with lawmakers and senior state officials, will take place Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
As state legislators prepare for the 2017 session, which begins Wednesday, Jan. 4, in Jefferson City, about 350 officials and civic leaders from across northwest Missouri are getting ready for an annual journey to the Capitol designed to draw attention to various issues affecting their 18-county region.
Next year’s Great Northwest Days, two days of tours, meetings, informal talks, displays, and food, will take place Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
In order to make an effective case before lawmakers and senior state officials, a steering committee has been working for several months to come up with a list of discussion topics that event organizers hope will lead to legislation and policies designed to foster economic development, education, and other priorities.
The idea is for leaders across the region to deliver a single, cohesive message with regard to what amounts to a northwest Missouri legislative platform, which has been themed “Growing the Missouri of the Future.”
This year’s list of action items, which have been assigned no particular priority, calls for creation of a Rural Policy Office; investment in infrastructure, including broadband, transportation, water, and wastewater; increased investment in education at both the K-12 and post-secondary levels; and more local control in such areas as solid waste management, economic development funding, and public schools.
According to the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce, which coordinates the local Great Northwest Days effort, the committee used several criteria in assembling its list, including level of regional impact and the need for timely action.
Regional planning and advocacy groups, such as transportation advisory committees, solid waste districts, the Area Agency on Aging, and the Missouri Association of Counties were asked to identify and suggest issues for inclusion. Those suggestions were reviewed by the steering committee, which came up with the final list.
Once in Jefferson City, the northwest Missouri contingent will be introduced in the House and Senate chambers.
Those attending will also meet with lawmakers, attend an educational luncheon, and mingle with legislators and state department heads during an evening exhibition designed to highlight the region’s strengths and needs.
Both state Sen. Dan Hegeman and state Rep. Allen Andrews, whose districts include Nodaway County, have described Great Northwest Days as one of the more effective lobbying events directed at lawmakers during each legislative season.
“This is truly one of the premier events during the session,” Hegeman said. “The impact of Great Northwest Days is felt throughout session as legislators and officials who once knew or cared little about our part of the state have a better understanding of the challenges we face and the priorities we have in northwest Missouri.”
Adds Andrews: “It is not uncommon for industries or the geographic areas of our state to come to Jefferson City and throw a reception to try to promote their interests. But one of the best we see, both in terms of entertainment and regional promotion, is Great Northwest Days.”
Organizers for this year’s trip to the Capitol include chair Pat Dillon, head of outreach and government relations at Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph; co-chair Jackie Spainhower, executive director of the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments; and Nodaway County coordinator Lily White, executive director of the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce.
For more information on Great Northwest Days, go to www.greatnorthwestday.com.
