Last week, Carroll County Growth Partnership (CCGP) staff, city and county officials, and community leaders traveled to our nation’s capital for the 2023 Access Washington trip. For years, CCGP has brought local concerns to elected officials and government agencies at least once per year where they live and work in an effort to secure federal support on these issues. Recent successes from Access Washington include approval for the Manning Municipal Utilities gas pipeline expansions and additional consideration for rural critical access hospitals. CCGP Executive Director Kimberly Tiefenthaler says these trips don’t always bear fruit immediately, but it builds and maintains relationships at the highest levels of government.
Attendees on this year’s trip included Tiefenthaler and Government Affairs Director Matt Meiners from the CCGP, LaVern Dirkx and Aaron Kooiker from the City of Carroll, Aaron Juergens from CCGP and the Iowa Pork Board, Adam Schweers from the Highway 30 Coalition, Linn Block from Manning Regional Healthcare Center, Dawn Meyers from the City of Manning, and Gene Meiners with the Carroll County Board of Supervisors. Many of these people have traveled with Access Washington for several years, and Matt Meiners says having agencies or elected officials’ staffs recognize you when walking in goes a long way toward getting action on an issue.
Each group brought a specific issue, such as increasing USDA oversight of rural subsidized housing in the area, specifically the Fairview Apartments, or the continued effort to four-lane U.S. Highway 30 across the state. They were very pleased with the responses received from the various offices and representatives this year, but Meiners says they must keep local concerns in front of decision-makers as much as they can. Carroll Broadcasting will bring you more from the Access Washington participants in upcoming newscasts.
