By Delaney Otto, Grand Forks Herald
EAST GRAND FORKS — Rural ambulances, the farm bill and taxes are three things U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach is planning to bring back to Washington, D.C., following conversations with Minnesota’s local leaders.
Ambulance reimbursements for rural areas is one of those key points, and a conversation is already happening at the federal level, she said.
“It’s an issue because programs or reimbursement rates that work for the cities don’t always work for the rural areas,” she said.
As part of her conversations, Fischbach, R-Minnesota, traveled to East Grand Forks for a roundtable discussion focused on economic issues. It included conversation about city planning needs, housing issues, inflation impacts, pro-business policies and support for a strong agriculture/farm economy, an invitation to the discussion said. Members of the East Grand Forks City Council and the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce were at the meeting, along with Polk County officials, East Grand Forks business owners and managers, as well as Sen. Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, and Rep. Deb Kiel, R-Crookston.
The discussion was posted in a notice as a public meeting, but the Herald was not permitted inside. Notes from the discussion were provided afterward by Mandy Heffron, the district outreach and communications representative for Fischbach, breaking the discussion into five points: concerns over the capacity level for housing, services and other resources following an increase of people coming into the area because of the Grand Forks Air Force Base’s expansion; inflation’s toll on retail businesses in the area; a rise of mental health issues and lack of solutions, with staffing shortages in behavioral health-related facilities being a main issue; federal programs that could assist Grand Forks and East Grand Forks with their bridge plans; and recruitment and retention of law enforcement.
The bridge plans are part of the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Board’s 2050 Street and Highway plan . The idea of an intercity bridge has brought multiple disagreements from different public bodies in East Grand Forks and Grand Forks, and has been discussed by previous Grand Forks City Council candidates .
Fischbach and her team have been going around the area recently to check in with local communities, get updates about projects and see where they can help, she said. She was in Ottertail and Staples earlier in the week, and Marshall following the East Grand Forks visit.
“I want to make sure, No. 1, that they know we’re there to assist,” she said.
When she goes back to D.C., along with everything she’s heard, she also plans to work on the farm bill and taxes. The farm bill, she said, has moved to the Senate, and something in it that she’s interested in involves investing in rural America. It talks about getting more capital to rural areas to build hospitals, child care resources and other things. She also said a 2017 tax bill is expiring next year, so task forces are already being created to prepare for its end and what to do next.
Aside from specific focuses and topics of discussion, Fischbach said she wants to check in with the communities, hear their concerns and get updates on how different projects are going and how she can be of assistance.
“Things like that we just try to get updates on,” she said. “And then see if they need federal help and how we can possible help them with those sorts of things.”
