ABOVE: From left: Representatives Bjorn Olson and Marj Fogelman listen as Senator Rich Draheim speaks to a crowd Tuesday evening at the American Legion on Downtown Plaza in Fairmont. The three were there for a town hall that more than 100 community members attended.

FAIRMONT– Cuts to disability services, education and libraries and museums were topics of conversation Tuesday evening at a town hall meeting at the American Legion in Fairmont which Representatives Bjorn Olson and Marj Fogelman and Senator Rich Draheim attended. However, it was the topic of undocumented immigrants and the recent uptick in deportations that caused the most rumble throughout the room of more than 100 attendees.

An early question over the course of the two hour town hall asked about what could be done to lessen some of the cuts people with disabilities are facing.

Draheim said he’s met with five of the seven counties he covers and is amazed at the amount of dollars being pushed down to the counties. He said the federal government has pushed down issues to the state and then the state has pushed it down to the counties and cities.

“We are transferring a large segment of what I would refer to as health and human services expenses that the state used to do, now we make the counties do it and we pay for it,” Draheim said. “We have a real crisis on our hands and I don’t use that word lightly.”

He said he’s received about 1,000 emails about the matter and he recommended those concerned email the Governor and the chairs of the committees on both sides.

“Remind them how important that funding is for a segment of the population that no one else is going to take care of,” Draheim said.

He added that he believes spending needs to be prioritized as a state.

“We have to get back to the basics,” Draheim said.

During the town hall someone also bought up a concern over a loved one who has dementia and needs 24 hour care. Draheim admitted that the people who care for individuals who require care have important jobs and said it’s been a battle the nine years he’s been in the Senate to get the wages up for those people.

He said every year there are bills to increase the pay but only small raises have made it through.

Also on the topic of wages, someone who identified as a social worker said they recognize poverty in the county as a main issue. They asked what was being done to raise the livable wage of people living in low income situations.

“I think more than anything, instead of increasing the livable wage of an individual, we need to get rid of some of the burden on some of the individuals, like childcare,” Olson said

He said that increasing the burden can also include educating children, which is why programs like Head Start are important.

Fogelman said that raising the minimum wage is difficult because employers then raise prices.

“We’re over regulating our businesses and over regulating so much, in not just Minnesota but the whole United States. We need to do it in a realistic term so we’re not taxing people into oblivion so that they can’t function.”

Also on the topic of education, Draheim said he was in favor of feeding any child in grades K to 12 who needs it. He said he was in favor of paying for meals at school for every child under the poverty rate up to 400 percent but that ‘his kid didn’t need it.’

Olson added that he was a teacher at Blue Earth Area Middle School just five years ago and that there wasn’t a single kid who was hungry, asked for food and wasn’t fed.

“I can promise you that and that was back when people were paying,” Olson said.

He said that Representative Andrew Myers has a bill that would call for families making more than $150,000 a year to pay for their children’s lunch.

“I think we can most all of us agree on that, except for the individuals who refuse to allow that to happen,” Olson said. “That would alleviate $112 million worth of burden on our state. You want to talk about taxing the rich? How about just make them pay for their kid’s lunch.”

Olson also addressed a question on how the legislature is going to ensure that children and families have access to crucial resources such as Head Start.

“As a state, when we’re assisting our youngest learners in having a head start, we’re going to see the benefits,” he said. “Kids who are not educated do not succeed at a rate that kids who are educated do.”

Draheim added that the education target for the Senate is at 0 with no cuts or increases for the biennium.

“But in 2028 and 2029 we cut almost $700 million,” Draheim said. “Do the schools pick up the slack and other expenses?”

He said that it’s all about priorities and that people need to pick and choose and be smart about it.

A question on what the legislature can do to help save Minnesota museums and libraries from being censored by DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency.)

Olson said he thinks it’s important when talking bout history to have museums project it in a way that doesn’t sugarcoat things.

“I also…impress upon that it’s accessible to not only every Minnesotan but the entire world,” Olson said. “When Minnesota’s history is told, Minnesota’s history is the one that’s written about and remembered. That’s an important thing to me.”

Looking at healthcare and budget cuts, Olson said that on the house side of things, the budget target is to cut $300 million from the health bill. He noted that the health and human services portion of the budget is by far the largest of the $72 billion budget.

“It’s still a lot of money and it’s going to fall upon someone but the question is who,” Olson said.

He said while there’s an agreement to make the cuts, there’s no agreement as to how it will be done. However, Olson said that in recent years undocumented individuals in the state of Minnesota have been given health insurance covered for by the taxpayers of Minnesota.

“That goes to the tune of $225 million,” Olson said.

He said it costs so much because the federal government doesn’t do any reimbursement so it falls on the backs of the taxpayers, while citizens on Medicare or Medicaid get reimbursements from the federal government.

“The question is, who are you going to put the burden on? Do you put it on our most vulnerable individuals? Do you ask the people who can’t take care of themselves to start taking care of themselves? That’s the real question and that’s the sticking point,” Olson said.

Later in the evening someone asked Olson where he got his information from and he said that it was from the MNsure website

Still later yet, someone had a question about due process of law.

“If someone comes into my home and grabs me or takes my family member and takes them away, can they know what they’re charged with and do they have the ability to defend themselves before they’re incarcerated?”

After several nods, the person continued, “you spoke about undocumented people as if they’re some kind of secondhand citizen, but they’re humans. You rip people out of their families. They deserve a due process of law as well.”

This question was met with applause. Draheim said he thinks everyone deserves due process, citizen or not.

Olson added that he’s a firm believer that every person should be treated as a human being. However, he said he thinks there’s a significant difference between people who are here and “our” responsibility and people who aren’t.

“There’s another issue of people who are here doing the right thing and people who are here doing the wrong thing and I think that’s where we’re really muddying the water,” Olson said.

He acknowledged that immigration is needed to help grow a modern country but that the right way for it to happen is through legal immigration.

“That’s exactly what we need to do. We need to overhaul our country in a way in which we bring good people in at a rate that exceeds what we’re doing and we don’t allow the bad actors in,” Olson said as his answer was also met with applause.

Later, Olson and Draheim were pressed to answer whether they would stand by what they said about their belief in due process of law.

Olson explained the different levels of law enforcement which include local police departments, sheriff’s offices, state patrol and outside agencies like ICE.

“They come in and we don’t have jurisdiction. The Fairmont Police Department is not going to stand in front of ICE and say, ‘you cannot apprehend this individual that you have a lawful order to apprehend.’ They can’t do it. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office can’t do it… you can’t just say, ‘because I think it’s wrong, you can’t do it.’ It doesn’t work that way,” Olson said.

Several people brought up the fact that some local international college students, from Minnesota State University-Mankato, have recently had their visas revoked though they were legally here.

There was no response given to that specific incident but Olson welcomed further discussion on it after the town hall meeting.

One person looked at the larger picture of some of these issues and asked what the three could do to speak up as the Minnesota representatives and as people who are respectful and act in a dignified manner.

“My concern is that we as a country are losing our reputation as being a quality leader and as being a country that our allies can depend on,” they said.

The question was met with a round of applause by a portion of the room. Olson said he thought there were a lot of people in the state who are concerned about some of the things going on at a higher level.

“I think it’s okay to understand that it’s okay to be disappointed in the outcome of an election. It is truly okay. I was disappointed before,” Olson said. “It’s okay to be elated by the outcome of an election.”

Rather, he said, he believes there is a loss in the nation of being able to disagree agreeably.

“Elections have consequences. Elections also end. Your time is limited in office and there will be a change whether it stays the same or goes to a different party. That’s all going to be dependent on the will of the people,” Olson said.

He said the best way to encourage things as to do as they were all doing by having a town hall meeting and having concerns addressed and questions asked and answered.