Bailey Hovland
WASHINGTON D.C. — From May 22-24, the Highway 23 Coalition made their way through the United States capital, attending congressional meetings to advocate for funding the proposed initiative regarding Highway 23.
This initiative was focused on obtaining federal funding for improvements to the Highway 23 corridor and seeking Critical Freight Corridor Designation for Highway 23.
On Wednesday different groups of the Coalition met with several U.S. elected officials, including Senator John Thune (R-SD), Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD), Representative Kirsty Noem (R-SD), Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
On Tuesday, May 22, the Coalition left Minneapolis for Washington D.C., where they had a meeting scheduled with the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) and Whitmer & Worrall later that day. After conversing with Jay Hansen of NAPA as well as Whitmer & Worrall, they held a small group discussion with Kodiak Hill-Davis of David Turch & Associates and and were the dinner quests of WSB & Associates.
Wednesday was topped off by dinner with staff members of David Torch and Associates as well as David Turch himself.
The Coalition concluded their time in the capital with a trip to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to speak to Caitlin Hughes, director of the Office of Freight Management and Operations, and Crystal Jones, a team leader in the same department.
The Coalition’s final day in Washington D.C. began with a meeting at the U.S. Department of Transportation where they met with R. Howard Hill, a policy analyst, in the Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation.
