The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

Related Photos

  • Blue Earth County Commissioner Colleen Landkamer, 56, talks about her forthcoming ascension to the presidency of the National Association of Counties, or NACo. As president, Landkamer says she hopes to represent all of NACo’s counties at the Capitol while bringing rural economic development issues to the fore. John Cross

    Landkamer

August 5, 2006

Voice on the Hill

Commissioner Landkamer to become president of national county association

Dan Linehan

MANKATO — To the Blue Earth County Board, Colleen Landkamer is an urban commissioner whose district is dominated by concrete and asphalt.

When she talks to the Legislature, Landkamer becomes the representative of a growing regional center — the city serves the roughly 1 million Minnesotans who live in the 12 counties around Mankato.

But when she’s on Capitol Hill talking to lawmakers and their staffs, she becomes the spokeswoman of a small rural county 90 miles away from anywhere.

That voice — already active for nearly 20 years at all levels of government — will get a yearlong metaphorical microphone next week when she becomes president of the National Association of Counties, or NACo. She beat out every county in the nation, from Loving County, Texas (pop. 68), to Los Angeles County and its 9.5 million residents.

Landkamer, first elected to the board in 1988, is running unopposed this fall.

At center stage will be her advocacy for the rural economy.

It’s a cause that has earned her nicknames like “rural queen,” but Landkamer, 56, maintains she’s representing a constituency in need. The biggest rural issues — health care and economic development — are at home in Blue Earth County.

It’s clear, then, that those issues will have a wider audience at the national level because of Landkamer’s influence. But what will it mean to the 55,000 or so residents of Blue Earth County?

Suzi Schmidt says a lot.

The Lake County Board Chairwoman should know. Her fellow commissioner, Angelo Kyle, served as NACo’s president two years ago. Lake County, in northern Illinois between Chicago and Milwaukee, has a population of about 730,000.

“It really does put your county in the forefront when it comes to lobbying and new programs that come out to benefit counties,” Schmidt says, mentioning a few ways that Kyle’s presence on the Hill helped locally.

Community development block grants, which provide boosts to a variety of services from social programs to infrastructure, were being cut around the country. But, thanks to Kyle, Lake County didn’t lose money.

Schmidt also talked about how the county was able to use a NACo prescription drug plan for seniors and secure more money for affordable housing.

Blue Earth County, too, was one of the first counties to use those cards, says Human Services Director Bob Meyer.

“(Landkamer) played a big role in making sure we knew about it,” he said. The county is developing a process to distribute the drug discount plans.

Others agree that rural areas tend to get less attention (an oversight that astounds Landkamer) with NACo’s help.

“The big states and cities tend to get most of the federal government’s attention, especially in the new Homeland Security paradigm,” said Jim Barrow, director of administrative services in Umatilla County, Ore. Bill Hansel, a Umatilla County commissioner, was NACo’s president last year.

“Having a vocal presence in NACo does good stuff for the folks back home,” Barrow said.

Landkamer is a bit hesitant to claim sole responsibility for local projects — “you don’t do anything by yourself” — but does say she’s kept county needs on the minds of lawmakers. That includes the construction of County Road 90, the so-called “south route.”

Mike Erlandson, Congressman Martin Sabo’s former chief of staff, remembers Landkamer as a champion of infrastructure and social services. Erlandson says he’s not surprised Landkamer was elected to head NACo, which he says has “a strong voice on Capitol Hill.”

“She’d never forgot that she was a Blue Earth County commissioner first,” he said.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News