The district work period has come to an end, and Easter is now behind us. I hope everyone had a safe and blessed holiday. Our family attended Easter Mass and then we were able to spend some quality time together. The grandchildren always get a kick out of the Easter eggs and candy, and this year was no different.
Besides celebrating Easter with my family, I used the two-week district work period to travel across central and eastern Missouri. I had a number of productive meetings with constituents and attended a wide variety of events. Here are a few of the highlights.
A student at Eugene Elementary School in Cole County, Nicklaus Doerhoff, contacted me earlier this year for help with a project he was working on about Washington, D.C. Little did I know I would have the honor of attending Nicklaus' presentation of his project in person, which is exactly what happened. After Nicklaus gave a presentation to his classmates about Washington, D.C., and all of the historic sites and attractions it has to offer, I had the opportunity to address the class and talk about the role of the United States government. Then, I participated in a question-and-answer session with the class. Thank you to the teachers and staff at Eugene Elementary for inviting me - it was a great morning.
I also spent part of last week in St. Charles County meeting with constituents. One meeting was with representatives from area nonprofits that serve the community, including BCI, the Child Center and Youth in Need. We discussed an array of topics that ranged from federal grants to the budget to tax reform. From there, I went to hear the latest from the chief of Wentzville Police Department, Kurt Frisz. I want to thank Chief Frisz and all of the law enforcement officers who serve in the 3rd District every day for keeping us safe. Later that day, I headed to Lincoln County for a special ceremony, at which the county was recognized as an Agri-Ready County. The Agri-Ready designation recognizes counties that actively support Missouri agriculture, so this means Lincoln County is a great place for agricultural enterprises to develop and grow. It was an honor to speak to the group and to also present a letter of recognition to signify what Lincoln County has achieved. Hopefully, this designation will lead to further investment in the county, as well as jobs and economic growth that will come along with it.
Lastly, I spent time in Owensville and Linn. In Owensville, I stopped by Owensville High School to take a tour and spend time talking to students and staff. From there, I went to Linn and met with Dr. Shawn Strong, the president of State Technical College of Missouri. I was incredibly impressed with the school and its students. State Tech is the only publicly supported higher education institution in Missouri with a mission that is devoted to technical education at the associate degree level. The school does a great job preparing its students with needed skills to enter the workforce in Missouri.
Now it is back to Washington where the work continues on such key issues as the budget, health care reform, fixing our broken tax code and replacing Dodd-Frank. We have a busy legislative calendar on the horizon, and I will keep you up-to-date with what my colleagues and I are working on in Congress. Have a great week!
U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., shares his perspective each week on national issues, including ones that affect Missouri. He represents the state's 3rd District, which includes Jefferson City. His local office can be reached at 573-635-7232.