ST. PAUL -- State Rep. Al Juhnke was handed a prime committee chairmanship Monday by House DFL leaders.
Juhnke, DFL-Willmar, was appointed chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs Finance Division for the House.
As chairman, Juhnke will have oversight of an estimated $200 million agriculture budget that will pertain to major issues like ethanol and the Rural Finance Authority, as well as smaller committees dealing with the Animal Board of Health and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute.
Juhnke, who represents District 13B -- the southern two-thirds of Kandiyohi County including Willmar, has been on the agriculture committee since being first elected to the House in 1996.
"I've been involved with agriculture all my life, so this is a natural for me," said Juhnke in a telephone interview.
ADVERTISEMENT
Juhnke has degrees in soil science and agronomy, worked at the University of Minnesota in ag research, worked in the commercial ag industry and currently owns and operates an ag appraisal business.
He said he wants to be a strong voice for agriculture and said a new focus on renewable energy has made this an exciting time to create a partnership with the state, farmers and private industry to "move forward in a real positive way in rural Minnesota."
He will also have oversight of budgets for various veterans programs, "which is good for our community," Juhnke said.
The state is considering locating a new veterans nursing home in Willmar. Juhnke won't have control of that budget issue, but his leadership position will give him opportunities to lobby for the project to happen here. "I want to see that come to fruition," he said.
"With the war in Iraq, we also need to pay close attention to the needs of our returning veterans and veterans' issues," Juhnke said in a prepared statement.
Other local legislators were also given leadership assignments.
Rep. Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City, was named chairman of the Veterans Affairs Division, which is a subcommittee of the Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs committee.
Rep. Aaron Peterson, DFL-Madison, was elected as one of six assistant majority leaders for the House. He is one of two rural legislators who will serve in that capacity.
