Atchison County attendees met with Senator Rusty Black, left, and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, third from right, at Great Northwest Day at the Capitol. They are pictured at Atchison County’s booth, “Solving the Puzzle of Atchison County One Piece at a Time.” It won second place in the 2023 booth contest. (Submitted photo)

As our regional legislators are back to work in Jefferson City hearing more bills in committees and on the House and Senate floors, community advocates throughout northwest Missouri attended the 21st Annual Great Northwest Day at the Capitol. Over 200 individuals from the 19-county region including multiple communities and representatives from business, education, healthcare, and government came together to educate legislators on Northwest Missouri counties and to discuss issues that are critical to the region.

This year’s priorities focused on infrastructure, workforce, childcare, and housing.

Atchison County attendees met with Senator Rusty Black and Representative Jeff Farnan in their respective offices and participated in the introduction of the Great Northwest from the House floor. Governor Mike Parson was the keynote speaker at the luncheon, and in the afternoon, a panel was held to educate attendees on this year’s regional priorities.

The evening event, designed to educate attendees about northwest Missouri, consisted of a regional expo that showcased community/county booths promoting each county’s attributes. Over 400 attended the event including state senators and representatives as well as representatives from state offices and departments.

The two-day event concluded Wednesday morning with updates on grants and projects from the Office of Broadband Management.

Atchison County’s theme was “Solving the Puzzle of Atchison County One Piece at a Time.” It won second place in the 2023 booth contest. Atchison County attendees were Crystal Woodring, Kamron Woodring, Ashlee Driskell, Susette Taylor, Johnnie Davis, Sondra Davis, Kristi McEnaney, Rod McEnaney, and Atchison County Coordinator Monica Bailey.

Volunteers from across the region began planning for the event in August of 2022. Community and corporate sponsors provide financial support for this annual project. Sponsors for this year’s event were Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, Evergy, Allstate Consultants, Cameron Regional Medical Center, Saint Luke’s Health System, Mosaic Life Care, North Central Missouri College, Northwest Missouri State University, Missouri Western State University, Missouri American Water, Snyder & Associates, and Olsson.

For more information on this annual legislative event and the 2023 priorities, visit the website at www.greatnorthwestday.com.