Monica M. Bailey, Executive Director, Atchison County Development Corporation

Our regional legislators are back to work in Jefferson City and community advocates throughout northwest Missouri are ready to share their priorities this year at Great Northwest Days at the Capitol, February 6-7, 2018.  This event, focused on raising awareness of Northwest Missouri to state legislators and departments, features an introduction on the House and Senate floors, a regional luncheon, informative roundtables and an educational breakfast.  The Mardi Gras themed main event on Tuesday night provides an opportunity for community representatives to promote their communities to legislators and others who are invited to attend.
One of the many strengths of Great Northwest Days at the Capitol is how the steering committee collects and prioritizes issues and concerns that impact the entire northwest region.  “The Great Northwest Days committee works hard to listen to all in the region and find out priorities that benefit the region as a whole,” said Micah Landes, 2018 Steering Committee Chair.  “Collaborating and speaking as a unified voice has proven to be powerful.”  This year’s priorities include:
Rural Broadband:  We live in a world that is defined by interconnectivity. Northwest Missouri has always been defined by our communities and our people – and now is the time to connect those communities and people to the world through high speed internet.  Great Northwest Days supports new, creative ways and technologies to connect our citizens to the global marketplace, like HB 1872 (Johnson) and SB 922 (Hegeman) that develop funds to make this a reality.
Transportation and Infrastructure: Great Northwest Days encourages lawmakers to make an investment in our region through our roads and water projects – projects that are vital to the economic future of the region.  Great Northwest Days opposes plans that would return fiscal and maintenance responsibility of State lettered routes to local county governments.
911 Funding: Imagine that you have an emergency late one evening while driving through a rural area and when you call 911, they don’t have a way to find where you are.  This is a reality for many in our region, as funding for 911 centers that has long been tied to land line surcharges dries up. We ask state legislators to give control back to our local governments, giving them the opportunity to find new funding mechanisms to support these critical services.
Education: The future of our region depends on an educated and skilled workforce.  Northwest Missouri has many incredible schools to develop the next generation of citizens, from preschool all the way through advanced degrees – but they cannot fulfill this mission for our region without your help.  Great Northwest Days asks our legislators to continue investing in education for our region, knowing that our employers, our communities, and our future absolutely depend on it.
Participating counties that both sponsor and plan to attend the event include: Andrew County, Atchison County, Buchanan County, Caldwell County, Carroll County, Clinton County, Daviess County, DeKalb County, Gentry County, Grundy County, Harrison County, Holt County, Linn County, Livingston County, Mercer County, Nodaway County, Sullivan County, and Worth County.
The cost for Great Northwest Days is minimal thanks to corporate sponsorship.  This year’s sponsors include (in no particular order): Touchstone Energy, Mosaic Life Care, KCP&L, Spencer Fane, Cameron Regional Medical Center, Allstate Consultants, Smithfield Hog Production Missouri, Olsson and Associates, Snyder & Associates, Missouri American Water, Missouri Western State University, North Central Missouri College, Northwest Missouri State University.
For more information on the event, contact Monica Bailey, Atchison County Coordinator, at atchdev@rpt.coop or 660-744-6562, or visit the website at www.greatnorthwestday.com.