Opinion

Seven of us recently spent 11 days and ten nights canoeing, camping, and fishing deep in the wilderness of the nearly 6,000 square-mile/ four million-acre Katmai National Park and Preserve of southwest Alaska. It was an epic adventure that none of us will ever forget.

On North Arm Bay of Lake Minnetonka, Rob sits on the edge of a dock. As the sun sets, Leila the Loon effortlessly floats up.

Question: I see so many vehicles driving too fast on the highways. Are you guys doing anything about it? Answer: You are correct and yes we are.

In hip hop culture, a grill is dental jewelry for inside your mouth so your teeth can sparkle with gold or diamonds. In a car, a grille covers an opening in the body of a vehicle to allow air flow. If someone is up in your grill, they’re confrontational. If you’re getting grilled, someone’s asking you a lot of intense questions.

I am coming off a week well spent with folks across the 7th District. During one of my visits, I talked with wheat growers about several issues including how the crop insurance program has been helpful as they recover from extreme weather, but that they are worried about new requirements being proposed by my colleagues on the left. For example, this administration wants to focus on climate priorities, and those kinds of additional regulations and requirements are going to impact farmers’ ability to do their jobs. These regulatory burdens are simply not necessary. Some of these family farms have been here for over 100 years and do everything in their power to make sure they will have workable land for generations to come. They do not need Washington breathing down their necks. I will be working with my colleagues in D.C. to make sure we do not put any unnecessary requirements into farm programs.