By MATT PIKE
Several from around northwest Missouri will be traveling to Jefferson City over the next two days as Great Northwest Days is happening once again.
The event brings together citizens, business owners, government officials, and educators from all 18 counties to speak about the needs in northwest Missouri.
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President Natalie Hawn says during an evening event tomorrow, around 500 people will come together, each highlighting their respective county
"They are really just showcasing, because we’ll have a ton of state senators, representatives, department directors like the Department of Economic Development, Director of Ag, they’ll all come to the event, it’s really a great way for us to highlight northwest Missouri in one room,” Hawn says on the KFEQmunnity show. “And then we also join together on priorities for northwest Missouri.”
Hawn says those priorities don't change drastically year to year with it taking time to tackle big issues
“Workforce housing, housing is a huge deal in St. Joseph but it’s also a big deal in rural Missouri where you don’t have access to developers, or access to capital to do housing, the same struggles that we have here in St. Joseph and really we’re seeing across the country they tend to face rural America more,” Hawn explains. “Infrastructure and broadband, for us to be successful in growing economic development int he rural communities you have to have infrastructure.”
Hawn says other priorities include access to rural healthcare, childcare availability, and sustainable tax reform among others.
Hawn says the event is huge because often lawmakers from around the St. Louis area will come through to learn about a part of the state they don't know much about
Hawn says even though those lawmakers don't have voters in this area, it still helps many ways
"I think for them, coming to learn about a part of the state they don’t understand is really helpful,” Hawn says. “It’s one of the reasons we got the MTC grant, and when we got that really because of Brenda Shields, whose been a great representative for us, but we got it also because the folks understanding that northwest Missouri is important too, and that we tend to get overlooked on funding, whether it’s for entrepreneurs, for infrastructure, et cetera.”
The grant from the Missouri Technology Corporation helped put together the Launch Pad in St. Joseph which officially opened earlier this month.
Great Northwest Days runs tomorrow and Wednesday. During the event tomorrow, Pat Dillon will receive the third Northwest Missouri Citizen of the Year Award at the Great Northwest Evening Reception.
Dillon was named Chief Government & Community Relations Officer at Mosaic Life Care in 2019 after serving as Vice President of Advocacy/Government Relations. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards, including the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce & Great Northwest Day committee and past chairman.
Dillon has also been recognized as one of Ingram’s “50 People in Missouri You Should Know.” Pat and his wife, Nancy, have two adult children and two granddaughters.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.