Legislators build trust, relationships during Minnesota Legislative Exchange

The last stop featured Hormel’s Jennie-O enormous turkey processing facility in Willmar. Reps. Clardy and Baker donned protective clothing, helmets, glasses, and special boots to tour Jennie-O and gained an appreciation for the mechanization as well as the hands-on work by the dedicated and diverse workforce. While viewing turkey processing may be challenging to digest for some, the constant attention by Jennie-O’s staff and plant leadership to health, safety and cleanliness was both impressive and reassuring.

Most significantly, the inaugural MLE trip showed how two members of the State Legislature were able to balance their mutual sorrow for the loss and serious injury of their colleagues, with the new trust, friendship, and commitment they built together in rural Minnesota.

In late August, Rep. Baker traveled to the Inver Grove Heights area to visit Rep. Clardy’s district for our third MLE trip (and first reciprocal exchange). The first two morning visits were devoted to education and workforce training, which has been a common policy area of interest for all the participant legislators. At Inver Hills Community College, the Representatives toured the engineering labs and classrooms, emergency medicine training, and computer labs. The meeting brought together both educators and labor representatives and included an interesting discussion of how credentialing can be made more flexible as workers change careers.

Later that morning, the two members visited the SMART Center of Dakota County, led by Sheriff Joe Leko, and were given a demonstration of de-escalation crisis training. They also saw an enormous storeroom filled with confiscated drugs that are being preserved as evidence in criminal narcotics legal proceedings.

Other memorable stops were the Flint Hills Pine Bend Refinery (the 3^rd largest in the Midwest) in Rosemount, which makes gasoline, aviation fuel, asphalt, petroleum coke for electric power generation, and other products. With more than 1,000 employees, the massive facility focuses first on safety, given the combustible material and products it uses.

Then, in the afternoon, Reps. Clardy and Baker toured Wipaire, a third-generation family-owned maker of floats and seaplanes as well as aircraft for aerial firefighting. Walking through the aircraft hangar, the group was astounded by the technology that permits a seaplane to scoop up water from a lake or river and fly the liquid load to be dropped on a blazing fire.

The first-ring suburbs south of Saint Paul offered Rep. Baker an unforgettable education experience from Rep. Clardy, who spent her career in teaching and recently retired after 30 years of working for Saint Paul Public Schools.

Our day in District 14A also included a wonderful meeting and conversation with leadership, staff and clients of the Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization, which provides services and support to the area’s growing immigrant community, particularly those who are Somali and of East African descent. We ended the insightful day with a lovely dinner at the famous Jules’ Bistro, learning from leaders with St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce and Initiative Foundation, as well as St. Cloud’s former longtime Mayor (and Citizens League Board Member) Dave Kleis and current Mayor Jake Anderson.  

St Cloud – known as the “Granite City” – once had as many as 30 operating quarries, but today the area focuses on automation, food and precision manufacturing, and information technology. The community’s business and education sectors are collaborating as they recognize where employment growth opportunities are headed. Whether it’s the aircraft maintenance technician program at SCTCC or the amazing patient simulators at the new medical campus training the next cadre of rural physicians, Rep. Feist came away with memorable impressions of unique learning environments.  

The 7th and final Minnesota Legislative Exchange trip of 2025 took place on Dec. 11-12, with Rep. Perryman visiting Rep. Sandra Feist in her north metro district – a dense, suburban district of just 9 square miles. The visit focused and included conversations about local governance, education, and social/human services provided to an increasingly diverse constituency. 

On a very cold winter afternoon, Reps. Perryman and Feist began with a visit to the North Park School for Innovation. This public elementary school embraces sustainability with an innovative physical structure that includes edible landscaping, rain gardens, and a bio-digester that takes food/paper waste and turns it into compost used for agricultural purposes and fuel to heat the building. The two legislators also marveled at the creative use of space and efficiencies the school has been able to employ. 

Next, the representatives visited the First Lutheran Church in Columbia Heights. This religious institution stands out because its mission has evolved far beyond pastoral services. With a diverse population from the Ecuadorian, Jamaican, Somali, and other Latino communities, First Lutheran offers an impressive array of learning, recreation, health, meals, and after-school programs. Recently, the Church has also served as a sanctuary for immigrant families who feel threatened by recent immigration policies. Reps. Perryman and Feist met with the Church leadership and discussed a number of its impressive activities as well as the uncertainties felt by many of their congregants.

The two members also engaged in several meetings with local mayors, public safety officials, and small business owners about their current challenges. These managers are looking for ways to deliver services and investments more efficiently before asking residents to pay higher property taxes – the main source of income for municipalities.  

One example of using regional cooperation to attain economies of scale is the Three Rivers Park District, which the two legislators met with leadership and staff at the Silverwood Park Visitors Center. Rep. Feist introduced her colleague to the unique regional governance of the Three Rivers Park District, which spans several municipalities in Hennepin, Carver, Dakota, Scott, and Ramsey counties. Three Rivers has also received some state funding for capital improvements as it often serves visitors from across Minnesota.  

Finally, Reps. Feist and Perryman made visits to facilities marked by their enormous infrastructure imprint. One is the General Mills Fridley Oat Mill, which hulls oats to make gluten-free oat flour for Cheerios cereal. The representatives climbed through several levels of the mill to witness General Mills unique capital investment which recycles the hulls to make electricity for the plant.  

Later that afternoon, they visited the Columbia Heights Water Treatment Plant, owned and operated by the City of Minneapolis. Viewing the huge piping system which uses innovative membrane ultrafiltration technology, the two members learned how the City ensures its water supply delivered to the region is safe, dependable, clean, and tasty. 

A second mine in Chisholm – formerly the site of several iron ore mines – today is known as the Redhead Mountain Bike Park, offering 25 miles of trails for biking, hiking, and appreciating this remarkable repurposing of lands. Citizens League arranged for the two members to ride mountain bikes and then descend into the former mine, which is now a striking canyon filled with water. The innovations that brought Redhead to life, including the concept of recreational use of mined lands and the change in state mine pit fencing laws that enabled this use, have won state and national environmental and engineering awards. 

The final mine visit was to the proposed NewRange Cooper Nickel mine, which would be constructed on the site of a former iron ore mine near Babbitt. The U.S. produces only a small fraction of copper, nickel, and cobalt; with most imported. Yet, these necessary raw materials are found in nearly every electronic device we use today. If approved, NewRange plans to deliver these metals to strengthen America’s domestic supply. The two members toured the impressive site and discussed the delicate balance between extracting these valuable metals and the need to meet Minnesota’s strong environmental standards for protecting our waters, lands, and wild rice.  

Finally, tourism was a topic of discussion at two of our stops in the Iron Range. At Giant’s Ridge in the Superior National Forest, which offers winter skiing, summer golf, and a variety of other recreational activities, Reps. Mahamoud and Wawas met with business and civic leaders to talk about opportunities to sustain and enhance the region’s thriving tourism economy. Meanwhile, a visit to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth highlighted the continued importance of the world’s fastest sport to the state of Minnesota. 

It would be hard to find two members of the Minnesota House that are more dissimilar in background and life experience, as well as representing such different districts. Just the difference in district size alone (Warwas = 1,692 sq. miles, Mahamoud = 4 sq. miles) is striking. Yet, this trip showed how the power of experiencing and learning about a new place can result in appreciation and friendship. 

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Snow was on the ground in early December as the Citizen League’s second reciprocal trip took place in South Minneapolis, with Rep. Anquam Mahamoud hosting Cal Warwas and his wife, Maria. 

The two members had a captivating albeit chilly visit in Rep. Mahamoud’s four- square mile district. In fact, for part of the itinerary, Reps. Warwas and Mahamoud walked between stops in the West Phillips neighborhood. 

A visit to the Minneapolis American Indian Center showcased the education, health, employment, and social services provided to the Twin Cities Native American community. At Abbott Northwestern Hospital, the two legislators met with the mental health staff to talk about the serious challenges that hospitals face in providing in-patient and out-patient services, and how they would be impacted by federal budget cuts. 

Community economic development was another major topic of discussion during visits to the Lake Street Council. The organization is housed in the gigantic art moderne Midtown Exchange, which used to be a Sears retail and mail-order catalogue facility. The legislators discussed the Corridor Recovery Initiative, which has assisted businesses and stabilized the neighborhood after the protests following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. A few blocks away, Reps. Mahamoud and Warwas toured the lively Mercado Central, a thriving and colorful assortment of 35 businesses, and met with the management team. 

One mile south is George Floyd Square, where the two representatives talked with (now former) Minneapolis City Councilmember Andrea Jenkins and her successor, Councilmember Soren Stevenson. The Square is a moving tribute to George Floyd and the tragedy that resulted in his death, and it is also a space to inspire justice and racial and economic healing. It was stirring to hear the poignant stories of the two local elected officials who witnessed the protests and also to learn about some of the neighborhood’s recovery achievements in the last few years, and discuss the City’s future plans for the neighborhood.  

Later in the day, Reps. Warwas and Mahamoud were guests of the Sabathani Community Center, a Black-led nonprofit founded in 1966 that provides essential strategies in health, employment, senior support, and family resources. Housed in a former junior high school (where Prince once attended), Sabathani seems to have found the secret sauce for standing up programs and services that are proven and effective. Part of their success is attributed to the trust they have engendered in the populations they serve. 

That evening, Reps. Mahamoud and Warwas celebrated their completed two trips on the Iron Range and in South Minneapolis with a jubilant Jamaican dinner at Pimento’s with Minneapolis City Operations Officer and former Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and new Minneapolis City Councilmember Jamison Whiting.  

Of course, the forests of the northland also have a strong recreational lure – which is why Rep. Zeleznikar offered to take her colleague on an ATV ride. Led by the leadership of the ATV MN Association, Rep. Carroll experienced his first ride on an ATV and learned about the sport and its economic impact in rural areas. 

More wood was in store for the two members at the next stop near Brimson, a sparsely populated area of St. Louis County. Reps. Zeleznikar and Carroll met with the aptly-named Peter Wood, a logger who clears out trees that are in danger of falling on utility lines and county roads. The gathering was held in an area damaged by the Camp House Fire in May 2025. The two legislators watched as Wood and his son Vinny masterfully maneuvered a harvester, which is controlled from a cab, to grasp, cut, and stack burnt trees. 

Most of the next day was spent in the southern part of Rep. Zeleznikar’s district in the Duluth metro area. A fascinating visit to Cirrus Aircraft, which is the leading maker of single-engine piston aircraft in the U.S., was followed by a working lunch at the Hermantown Chamber of Commerce with business and county/local leaders. As the two members would hear at several stops, many small businesses right now are most concerned with the implementation of Minnesota’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave program.  

Our visit to the Northland ended with (you guessed it!) another wood product tour – this time at the Sappi Paper Mill in Cloquet, one of the most modern and sustainable pulp mills operating in the North America.  

Rep. Carroll, who had never experienced a paper mill, was awed by the scale and ingenuity that involves 720 highly skilled employees. The paper is used for corporate reports, advertising brochures, direct mail, labels and much more. Perhaps most interesting is because, as a society, we simply use less paper than in previous generations, the industry had to find other end products for the wood pulp. Utilizing the cellulose in wood fiber to make textiles, Sappi Paper’s pulp can now be found in clothing that we all wear. 

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The last reciprocal trip of the first four pairings of the MLE found Rep. Zeleznikar visiting Rep. Carroll in Plymouth on Jan. 8-9, 2026. This geographically small suburban district is noted for its many med-tech and food science companies as well as other manufacturing that make up its thriving commercial base.

While the constructive dialogue and camaraderie that has become synonymous with MLE trips was still very much present, this trip also occurred just one day after Renee Macklin Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent during the federal government’s increased immigration enforcement in Minnesota, which has been met with protests throughout the region. Understandably, public safety and the faceoff between federal officials and demonstrators was on the minds of many people we met with during our visit.

On the first afternoon of the trip, Reps. Zeleznikar and Carroll toured Cargill’s North American Food Innovation Center. Here, Cargill’s team showcased several laboratories where their scientists test and customize ingredients and foods for clients that may be restaurants, processors, or makers of machines.  The two members learned about innovations that balance taste, price, timing, and marketability.

Another food-related visit was with the Buhler Group, a Swiss family-owned company that is active in 140 countries and operates a network of 31 manufacturing sites and 26 research and training centers. This stop focused on large machines, some of which are employing AI technology. In fact, the previous month, with a different pair of legislators, the MN Legislative Exchange saw Buhler equipment at General Mills’ Fridley Oat Mill.  Buhler also runs an impressive apprenticeship program for high school students, and the two legislators were able to have an inspirational dialogue with the students and their teachers.

The next morning, high school students were again on the agenda, as Reps. Zeleznikar and Carroll toured Wayzata High School with Superintendent Chace Anderson, his administrative team and Wayzata School Board members. Wayzata H.S. has more than 3,700 students (larger than many of the towns in Rep. Zeleznikar’s district) and an impressive physical plant with astounding resources across many academic and extra-curricular programs. While most of its graduates go on to four-year colleges, Rep. Zeleznikar was also interested in learning how the high school is assisting young graduates who may be advancing to trade or technical education.

Two examples of companies in Plymouth that are seeking young talent in the trades are Protolabs and Daikin Applied, where Reps. Zeleznikar and Carroll visited later that morning. Protolabs excels in quick-turn designing and customization of injection molds using computer numerical controls (CNC). These machines cut and shape precise metal and plastic parts for manufacturers. The scope and scale of their operation defied imagination and gave Rep. Zeleznikar an appreciation for the creative and skilled talent in Rep. Carroll’s district.

At Daikin, the two legislators explored the huge testing labs that replicate real-world solutions for HVAC products, systems, and parts.  The lab can use simulations for temperature variance and explore a variety of materials for large-scale residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.  Energy efficiency, of course, is a key requirement for Daikin’s customers so great efforts are taken by the research and design teams to keep electricity costs minimized.

The day continued with a delightful meal at Fox and the Pantry, and a conversation with owner Kym Joles; Ana Rayas, owner of neighboring Cocina de Ana which sells authentic bake-at-home Mexican cuisine; and Metropolitan Council Member Judy Johnson about the challenges facing small businesses in the community.

And finally, the day ended with a tour of both the Plymouth Ice Center and the Plymouth Community Center, a beautiful and expansive facility that opened in 2022 and offers event spaces, a gym and fitness facilities, indoor playground, gardens, and even an art gallery showcasing local artists. Representative Carroll was rightly proud to showcase this facility, which he supported and helped open during his time on the Plymouth City Council prior to running for the State Legislature.