(Spirit Lake)– With the election now just days away, KUOO news will be highlighting candidates for the seat representing the 5th district on the Dickinson County Board of Supervisors. We begin with Angela Kofoot, who tells us her political ambitions started at a young age…
“I grew up here in Spirit Lake. I hung posters for Berkley Bedell, my political roll model. I was chosen to attend American Legion Auxiliary’s Girl State and participated in school government and debate here. So that spark to get into politics started here. I spent 16 years in the Silicon Valley in management at large corporations. At Intuit I managed a budget much larger than the entire Dickinson county budget. In was a project manager for large software installations and business process reorganizations for Toshiba America, and then when I moved back here to the Iowa Great Lakes I also owned a small business here.”
Kofoot says seeing Dickinson county through the COVID-19 pandemic ranks extremely high on her list of concerns. And she says making broadband internet service more broadly available in the area, along with increased mental health services, are also among her priorities if elected…
“Two to three thousand people in Dickinson county lack high speed internet right now, something I’ve already started working on with state and federal officials and I’m ready to start writing grant requests and putting together a team to work on this issue. We need to do this not only so citizens of all ages can learn from home and work from home, but we need to get everyone in the county into the 21st century to grow our economy. And what will become obvious to everyone is that mental health resources challenge we’re facing. The suicide rate in Dickinson county is increasing dramatically as are the rates of substance abuse and partner abuse. Not only do we need more providers and more mental health inpatient beds, we’re budgeted to spend a half million dollars this year on mental health resources for this county. So we need to make sure we have the right providers with the right skills in the right places.”
Kofoot says controlled, orderly growth and development is also among her priorities…
“As we grow and develop more I think we’re going to need a county inspector. We’re also going to have to work really swiftly on clean water initiatives including the Little Sioux area as well as the lakes.”
Kofoot says she would also like to see the county’s trail system extended along East Lake Okoboji, including a recreational bridge over the narrows to connect the areas.
Friday we’ll profile Jeff Thee, who’s also seeking election to the district 5 board of supervisors seat.
