Sen. Dan Hegeman’s Capitol Report for the Week of Feb. 13, 2017

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Great Northwest Days at the Capitol Returns to Jefferson City

Over the years, this has truly become a marquee event of the legislative session, one that many of my colleagues look forward to. In addition to all the folks we had in town from northwest Missouri, this year saw members of the House and Senate, department heads of our various state agencies and even some of our Supreme Court judges in attendance.The 16th Annual Great Northwest Days celebration took place in Jefferson City two weeks ago, and I could not be more pleased with the fantastic turnout we had. Hundreds of local elected officials, business owners, community leaders and constituents descended on the Capitol to help showcase the very best of northwest Missouri.

Great Northwest Days at the Capitol serves a variety of purposes. It ensures northwest Missouri is recognized for the many contributions it makes to the state and highlights what life is like in our neck of the woods. It also allows area residents to present, in a unified voice, the issues that most concern them, as well as their legislative priorities. A few of this year’s regional priorities are increasing rural broadband access and addressing local infrastructure needs and challenges. Of course, bringing greater economic development opportunities to our area is always a priority. We need to make Missouri a business-friendly state in order to attract and grow businesses and bring well-paying job to the wonderful people of northwest Missouri.

Perhaps most importantly, however, Great Northwest Days at the Capitol serves as a reminder to lawmakers that we must take time to understand both the successes and challenges that different areas of the state face as we go about crafting public policy.

Great Northwest Days at the Capitol is truly unique — no other region of the State hosts an event on this scale. I want to thank everyone who made the long trek down here to Jefferson City, especially all those who worked so hard to make this year’s celebration a success.

To see pictures from Great Northwest Day please visit my webpage at this link: https://www.senate.mo.gov/great-northwest-days-2017/

As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

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