INADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE — including poor rural broadband, decaying roads, and limited affordable housing — limits our opportunity for economic development. It also poses a variety of threats to public health, education, safety, civic involvement, creative entrepreneurialism, and quality of life. I advocate for thoughtful investment in these areas, including wise allocation of federal and state funds.
APPROPRIATELY VALUING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES and ecosystems is essential not just for human health and safety, but also for our economic future. Without healthy water, air, soil — and access to reliable, affordable, renewable energy sources — Dunn County becomes a vastly less attractive place to live, work, farm and grow a business.
As former Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson observed: “The economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment.” Our policies must reflect that fact that it is far easier and more and cost-efficient to support sustainable management than to attempt damage control.
WHOLE-PERSON HEALTH. Residents of Dunn County, like most in our country, have experienced growing challenges to both their physical and mental health over the past several decades. Recent hospital and clinic closures have only made matters worse.
In the most recent Dunn County Health Needs Assessment Report, 53 percent of respondents named mental health (including depression and anxiety) as their top concern.
Other leading concerns included:
2. Obesity and Unhealthy Weight – (47%)
3. Drug Use - (45%)
4. High-Risk Alcohol Use - (39%)
5. Healthy Nutrition - (36%)
Dunn County has an important role to play in providing access to supportive resources for all these challenges, and an opportunity to make local help easier, more effective, and more affordable for all.
Taking a longer-term, systems view of our expenditures, opportunities and payoffs is essential to the wellbeing of our community. Wise investments and debt management to support solid infrastructure and human services help make Dunn County a safe, appealing place to live and work, thereby improving both our current quality of life and our lasting social and economic outlook.
In my current roles as a town and county representative, I've advocated for budgets that support these priorities, including responsible allocation of resources for RURAL BROADBAND AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
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