Sen. Rob Kupak outlines priorities including rural water, bonding and a potential sustainable aviation fuel plant in Clay County
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Sen. Rob Kupak briefed the Clay County Board on bills and priorities: bonding hopes for flood and nonsecure facility projects, support for rural water, limits on solar on prime ag land, restoring chiropractic Medicaid reimbursement, IT modernization grants, kratom regulation, and a tax-credit push to keep a sustainable aviation fuel plant on track.
Sen. Rob Kupak told the Clay County Board of Commissioners he is advancing a range of measures this legislative session, and he highlighted several topics he said could be of particular interest to the county.
Kupak said he is working on language to limit the use of prime agricultural land for solar projects and described tweaks to the grain indemnity fund following recent bankruptcies affecting stored grain. He said he is optimistic about bonding this year and listed local priorities such as flood mitigation and funding for the nonsecure facility as top needs.
On infrastructure, Kupak urged simplifying processes for rural water projects and said counties should find ways to pool resources. He also volunteered as lead author on legislation to restore Medicaid/Medicare chiropractic coverage after a proposed executive-budget cut, saying it could save money if structured correctly.
Kupak discussed other items including IT modernization grants for counties, bills to regulate kratom, and progress toward an electronic-waste/battery solution to address fire hazards. He specifically said he supports expanding a tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel to keep a plant that "potentially is coming here to Clay County" on track; he said such a plant could bring jobs and higher property-tax revenue for county, city and school districts.
On the DNR mapping concerns raised earlier in the meeting, Kupak said his office had not received constituent calls on that issue but offered to help convene DNR staff or arrange a virtual briefing to explain the inventory process.
Kupak closed by praising the county’s work on mental health and saying Clay County’s attachment to a nearby metro area gives it a distinct set of needs and opportunities in statewide policymaking.