Education and Family Life
I grew up in Virginia and am a graduate of Virginia High School and Mesabi Community College. Todd and I bought our home here and we had our first child here in 2000. I started at UMD when my son, Mika, was a toddler. For two and half years, I commuted to Duluth working on a double major in Studio Art and Art Education while also working part-time as a child advocate for the Range Guardian ad Litem Program. During this time, I became pregnant with my daughter Kira who is now four years old. While pregnant with her, I didn’t know that she had a diagnosis of Down Syndrome. We found out when she was born. Since that time, Todd and I have worked very hard at making sure all of her special needs are addressed and met. This parenting experience has opened the doors to many new opportunities for our family. We have a greater understanding and appreciation of what it takes to raise a child with a special need. We have become a part of a community of parents and individuals who share this experience. Due to my daughter’s special need and a fire we had in our home in 2004, I made a choice to put the latter part of my education at UMD on hold prioritizing our children.

Work Ethic
For the past five years, I’ve worked very hard as an advocate for children, otherwise known as a Guardian ad Litem. The Guardian ad Litem program is operated through the Sixth Judicial District Courts. I work primarily in Hibbing and Virginia Courts providing advocacy service to the entire Iron Range region. This program provides advocates for children in child protection and family law cases. The focus is the best interests of the children. This job is tough, but spending time, listening, and speaking on behalf of children means a lot to me. Communicating their needs in a respectful way to other interests such as family members, social workers, judges, attorneys, schools, medical providers, mental health providers and other interests is a big part of my job. Ultimately, this advocacy is what enables progress for these children’s needs. I hope to bring this type of respectful communication to city council working with other city council members, the mayor, and our city departments.

Community Involvement
I have been an active participant on the Headstart Policy Council, Quad City Early Childhood Coalition, and AEOA Board of Directors, as well as other community organizations and groups in the past. I sit at the table with other parents and interests working on issues that affect families and children. During my involvement with the Quad City Early childhood Coalition, we identified the need for an indoor play space for children. This has been a collaborative effort that will hopefully become a reality. Young families are an important part of this community. We need to have this voice represented on the city council. I plan to live in Virginia for a long time and I have a vision for its future.

Public Safety
In November 20, 2004, a fire started in our home. By 11 pm that night, the fire had gotten to the power supply and we lost power. This woke me up to the most terrifying experience in my life: being trapped with my children (Mika was age 4 and Kira was age 1) on the second floor of my home while it was on fire and filled with toxic smoke. In our pajamas, we crawled out onto the front porch roof from a bedroom window and yelled for help. It was a cold night and not knowing how extensive the fire was, I knew we needed to get off the roof immediately. A neighbor heard our calls for help and came outside. She called 911 and we were soon rescued off the roof by the Virginia Fire Department. But our pets were still inside the home. Virginia Fire Department then went to work on the fire, rescued the pets, and performed animal CPR. They were able to revive our German Sheppard and save his life. They also put the fire out and saved our home from being a total loss. I have the utmost respect for this department and their work in our community.

Additionally, I have had the pleasure of taking groups of young people of varying ages to tour the Virginia Fire Department. Fire Department staff has always been welcoming offering a highly educational experience. On one occasion, I brought a group of teenagers. During the ambulance tour, they began making jokes about the recreational use of pain medication. The Ambulance staff took this as an educational opportunity and relayed their experience of the countless number of calls for drug overdose and subsequent risks involved with drug abuse. I was as impressed with them then as I am today. I wholeheartedly support the fire department and am so proud of them.

We can create a thriving community for all residents. Economic Development is vital to bringing young families back into Virginia. We should be working on long range planning with an emphasis on living wage jobs and filling local needs. I have met with individuals at Alice Nettle. They told me how they would like to shop locally, but it is difficult for them to do so and in some cases they simply cannot. Many of the downtown businesses are not handicap accessible. This is a concern the city council should be addressing. I also recently met with a dog owner who is frustrated that there are no places within the city limits to exercise his dogs. He, along with other dog owners, has hopes of having a dog park within the Virginia City limits. He envisions a fenced area to exercise dogs off their leases. I’ve talked with young people who would like to development of public skateboarding park. Many area communities, smaller than Virginia, have a public skateboard park.

My priorities are:

• Sustainability and Economic Development with Living Wage Jobs
• Promotion of Healthy Recreational Opportunities
• Public Safety

Please vote at the General Election on November 6.