On Jan. 27, Flaherty & Hood’s government relations and communications team of Bradley Peterson, Julie Liew and Kelly Haff led a virtual press conference for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC), one of the firm’s longtime clients. Peterson, who leads F&H’s government relations practice and also serves as executive director of the CGMC, was joined by CGMC President and Luverne Mayor Pat Baustian and Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz to discuss key issues including Local Government Aid, water infrastructure, child care and housing and water infrastructure. You can watch video of the press conference here and read the CGMC’s press release here.
Here are some of the articles and editorials that stemmed from the press conference:
- Fairmont Sentinel – What state could be spending surplus on
- Alexandria Echo Press – An Echo Press Editorial: Legislature should support small towns by boosting Local Government Aid
- KNSI Radio – Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities Looking for Aid
- MinnPost – Minnesota Dems and Republicans agree on more money for police but plans differ
- New Ulm Journal – CGMC lists legislative priorities
- Worthington Globe – Luverne mayor makes case for expanding Local Government Aid to rural communities
- Marshall Independent – Greater MN cities call for $90M aid hike
- KTOE – CGMC urges state lawmakers to prioritize childcare funding in upcoming session
This week, the F&H communications team submitted a guest column by Mayor Baustian to media outlets across the state. The column focuses on one of GCMC’s top priorities — Local Government Aid — and highlights why increasing funding for the LGA program would be a smart state investment. Thus far, the column has appeared in the Austin Daily News, Crookston Times, Pine Journal, Faribault Daily News, Fargo-Moorhead Forum, Fergus Falls Journal, Wahpeton Daily News, Cottonwood County Citizen and other newspapers and website across the state.