Campaign update

By Melesia “Lissa” Rhodes

Here is a short update of my campaign. As most of you know, I am running for House District 2. I support medicaid expansion, women’s reproductive rights, approval for medical marijuana, and rural economic development. So what have I been doing?

I have been introducing myself by attending city council meetings and listening to their “thorns and roses”. When I met with Erie, I found that they were having issues with their city owned market. I’ve been involved with rural economic development for several years, focusing on rural grocery stores, and this allowed me to network with many groups and people. I was able to contact Secretar Toland and Trisha Purdon, director of the Office of Rural Prosperity. They were able to meet with Erie’s city clerk and find some streams of funding to put the Erie Market on a better path.

I met with the Galesburg City Council and that led to meeting with their fire chief. We now have a plan to seek a community development block grant (CDBG) for a new fire station and will explore funding for a new fire truck. They are also exploring expanding their fire district and possibly joining with their township and creating a fire district.

On March 22 I attended the public hearing with the Crawford County Commission concerning county zoning. Shasta Power is planning to place a large solar farm in Crawford County. This will be a $500 million investment in the county. This will provide 200 good paying jobs over two years during construction. Crawford County, USD 246 and USD 249 will benefit from this endeavor. I am supportive of Shasta Power and the benefit Crawford County will receive.

On March 27 I spoke at the Crawford County Leadership meeting in Girard. City and county leadership members attend these luncheons. I spoke on U.S. Department of Agriculture CBDG funding and the importance of strategic planning needed for a community’s successful growth. I am a USDA grant administer and this allows me to know when the USDA is seeking stakeholders for specific programs.

I haven’t even touched on Washington Day’s which would be an article on its own. I am so grateful that Emily and Jordan gave me the opportunity to attend.

I will continue to meet with city councils and county commissions across District 2 so that I can build relationships with them. I firmly believe that relationship building is how we win elections. I will continue to show that through communication, collaboration, and compassion we can build a better Kansas for all of us. If you would like to schedule a Meet ‘n Greet or a Lunch and Listen, give me a call or text 620-249-8617.