About 25 people attended a Hubbard County Democratic-Farmer-Worker (DFL) caucus at Park Rapids High School on Tuesday.
The meeting was open to residents of Park Rapids and the townships of Arago, Clay, Clover, Henrietta, Hubbard, Lake Alice, Lake Emma, Straight River and Todd. Other towns and villages in Hubbard County are combined into the townships of Nevis, Laporte and Helga.
DFL caucuses were also held at Nevis School, Laporte School and the Helga Community Center.
“We’ll be making a lot of resolutions,” said Carolyn Spangler, who chaired the DFL meeting in Park Rapids. “At each table, they come up with resolutions, and then they decide which ones they want to pass on to the county convention. At the county convention, we narrow down again to go to the state convention.
Among the resolutions discussed at the constituency tables were proposals to protect the environment and extend the franchise to convicted felons.
Robin Fish/Park Rapids Company
Phil and Brita Sailer of Straight River Township said climate change is one of the issues that got them involved in the political process.
Brita said the effects of climate change are impacting every aspect of Minnesotans’ lives, “so it’s critically important that we here in Minnesota and beyond take immediate action to reduce our footprint. carbon”.
She continued reading a resolution she proposed, encouraging conservation measures and initiatives to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.
“For me, it’s climate change,” admitted Dan Wilde of Todd Township, when asked what policy issue interests him. “It’s something that needs to be addressed, or we’re really all going to be in a world of pain, especially in the future. Old people like us, it’s not going to affect that much. But the younger generation is what we try to protect.
Robin Fish/Park Rapids Company
“I think we’re all just concerned about the democratic process,” said a Lake Emma Township resident who asked that his name be withheld.
“I always come,” said Hubbard Township’s LuAnne White. “It’s a responsibility that I think we all have, and everyone should be there. This year, it’s especially important, because we have challenges to the rule of law and the right to vote, and we need to get out there and get our little butts going.
Spangler later reported that 42 people attended DFL caucuses countywide.
“The main resolutions submitted by caucus participants were on environmental issues,” she said. “Participant concerns include drinking water infrastructure, reducing hazardous pesticides, restoring and expanding commercialization for recycling, the absence of new fossil fuel structures, transitioning to a zero-carbon economy and clean energy jobs, among other issues.
Other resolutions dealt with issues related to education – “school-based pre-kindergarten, full funding of all school meals (preK-12) and increased funding for early childhood education”, said Spangler, as well as agriculture-related resolutions to promote co-ops, small independent grocery stores in rural communities, soil-friendly farming practices, compensation to farmers for land taken for buffer strips, accountability of large-scale farms scale in case of pollution.
As for other areas where caucus participants showed great interest, Spangler listed civil and constitutional rights, public transportation, health and social services, media, internet and information, retirement security, government and corporate accountability and public safety.
The Hubbard County DFL convention is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 6 at Laporte School, with registration beginning at noon.