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More dialogue, less speeches good idea by governor

It was good to see Gov. Mark Dayton in Marshall Thursday. His presence at Southwest Minnesota State University conference center was a surprise.

Dayton and his staff are hosting a series of 10 town hall meetings throughout the state. The town halls are part of Dayton’s “25 by 25” goal of improving Minnesota water quality 25 percent by 2025.

More than 200 people attended the Marshall town hall event. Dayton sat down with two different groups of area residents to participate in discussions. Some of those residents said they thought Dayton seemed receptive to their concerns. Two of those residents told the Independent they were impressed with Dayton and his staff taking notes during the discussions.

Dayton said the town halls were set up so there were less speeches, but more dialogue. “Town hall participants were able to get that face-to-face dialogue, Dayton said.

Maybe Dayton learned a few lessons from the buffer zone issue. The governor and some of his staff members acknowledged that some previous water-quality measures such as the buffer law have not been well received.

Dayton said he has been called a “buffer bully” by some Minnesotans. “I think when it started out it seemed heavy-handed. That was my mistake,” he said.

It was good to hear Dayton’s acknowledgment to that mistake. Area county boards and landowners have struggled with buffer law and there has been some confusion over enforcement. Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Executive Director John Jaschke said he is working to be more adaptable and work with landowners on buffer law issues.

Hopefully the governor and state officials like Jaschke took those notes back with them back to St. Paul and will strongly study the concerns of people living in Southwest Minnesota.

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