An Agvocate at the Capitol: South Dakota State student shares her "Day on the Hill" experience

Written by Andrea Tomschin, MCGA Agvocate

I’ll be the first to admit that history, politics and government have never been my favorite subjects. So when the Minnesota Corn Growers Association went to the state capitol in St. Paul — aka “the hill” — to talk about current issues, I can’t say that I was all too excited.

However, when the day came I quickly began to realize that my first time at the state capitol was going to be a lot more fun than expected. Between meeting with Sen. Dan Sparks and Rep. Shannon Savick, discussing other topics important to corn farmers and touring the capitol, I learned a lot more than I ever expected to.

I was happy to share my first experience at the state capitol with another first-timer, Grace Erickson. Grace is also a member of the Alden community and I have gotten to know her through being in the same 4-H club. Grace and I joined the discussions with our senator and representative where we talked about environmental issues, renewable fuels, equipment repair taxes and taxes on labor, along with many other things. We also had the opportunity to take a backstage look at everything that happens during the day at the capitol.

I learned that the Minnesota State Capitol is an extremely busy place. People are constantly going in different directions, disappearing around corners and not really willing to stop and talk. Instead, people “walk and talk” until they split to go in different directions. We never once got on the elevator and made it to our destined floor without being interrupted by people on another floor trying to get in or out. And even as the senate meeting was called to order, many senators still seemed to be discussing issues right up until the last few seconds of the roll call being open.

In addition to our meeting with our senator and representative, Grace and I sat in on the very short senate meeting that was held that day, and prior to that had the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour on the house floor. We learned that the way the room is designed, there are whispering points. If you are sitting in one of those whispering points, someone at another point may be able to hear you. Additionally, we took our pictures sitting on the Speaker of the House’s chair and enjoyed learning how the rooms are divided between majority and minority as well as where the leaders of each sat and the reasoning behind it.

Although this day was not something that at the time I was looking forward to, I am now so happy I had the opportunity to experience this. I learned so many new things, and even think that experiencing government in motion helped me better understand what I was learning in my Political Science class this past semester. I hope everyone has the opportunity, at some point in their lives, to go to the capitol to discuss an issue they are passionate about, tour or just sit in on a senate or house meeting because it is defiantly a time I will never forget.

Andrea Tomschin in a Minnesota Corn Growers Association “Agvocate” who grew up in Alden, Minnesota, and attends South Dakota State University.