Governor-elect Tim Walz is off on a statewide listening tour. He recently made a stop in Bemidji to hear the voices of northern Minnesota.

Walz says the goal of the listening session was to talk directly to the people to determine what they’d like to see out of his administration. More than 160 people attended the event at the Sanford Center. Some topics that were brought up include aquatic invasive species, care for the mentally ill, early childhood education and the proposed Line 3 pipeline.

Walz says, “These are folks that, you know, very proudly and they’re right. They say either ‘I voted for you’ or ‘I didn’t vote for you,’ but really realizing that’s irrelevant now. Now in this job that I will be assuming, they want to make sure that their voice is heard so I’m incredibly hopeful. I’m incredibly grateful and I think that this speaks volumes to the community that a civil discourse in political life for an hour and an half on very tough issues. We just did that.”

Another purpose of the listening tour is to encourage people to apply to the many open commissioner positions on Walz’s team. Right now, there are more than twenty spots available.

Walz says, “We’re asking Minnesotans to ask what they can do for Minnesota. There’s commissioner jobs that are being advertised until the 7^th of December and these are being assembled and screened by the stakeholder groups. The very people who are going to be impacted by those agencies. So if you’ve got an expertise, you’ve got a desire to serve, get a name out there and this is just the beginning. There will be numerous boards that citizens can serve on.”

The governor-elect says his goal is to have all the positions filled by January 7th. Those interested can apply on the Minnesota Government website here.

By — Shirelle Moore