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Candidates place premium on environmental issues
Outdoors Editor Candidates for state and county office voiced their opinions on environmental topics Thursday night at the Northland Arboretum.
The non-partisan event placed 17 candidates for state and county offices before an audience of 56 people. The focus of the forum was how Crow Wing County can protect its natural resources in the face of continued growth.
Candidates for state House and Senate, county boards and Soil and Water Conservation District were invited.
Accepting the invitation on the county government level were Paul Thiede, candidate for county board District 2; Gary Walters, county commissioner for District 4; Ed Larsen, county commissioner for District 2; Les Degner, candidate for the Soil and Water Conservation District; Rachel Nystrom, county board candidate for District 3; Rosemary Franzen, candidate for county board District 4; and Don Samuelson, candidate for county board District 3.
On the state government level, the forum was attended by state Reps. Paul Gazelka, Greg Blaine and Larry Howes, Sens. Paul Koering and Carrie Ruud, and candidates Terry Sluss (Senate District 12), Al Doty (House District 12B), John Ward (House District 12A), Ron Berry (House District 4B) and Mary Olson (Senate District 4).
"The environment is a topic that has no corner on the electorate," Mike North, president of the Brainerd Lakes Area Audubon Society, said at the start of the forum.
The first half of the forum placed local officials and candidates before the audience. They answered questions about how to best preserve the natural beauty of the lakes area, how to handle the escalating off-highway vehicle issues, how to fund natural resource enforcement efforts, whether there should be a county-wide smoking ban, and what they believed is the most important environmental question facing the county.
Similar questions were put to the candidates for state office.
To nobody's surprise, everyone agreed that the environment must the a high priority in the coming years. Gazelka predicted that dedicated funding for natural resources will pass "within the next two years." Koering also voiced his support for dedicated funding, while Berry was the only candidate who said raising the sales tax would be necessary to adequately fund environmental efforts.
When asked of the most important environmental issue facing their district or the county, Walters, Larsen, Franzen and Degner all said "protecting water." Thiede said it was "managing growth," Nystrom said it was "educating people on environmental impacts," and Samuelson said it was water issues along with "the control of exotic species."
The forum was sponsored by the Brainerd Lakes Area Audubon Society, Crow Wing County Lakes and Rivers Alliance, and 1,000 Friends of Minnesota.
VINCE MEYER can be reached at vince.meyer@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5862.
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