Jake Johnson Holds Community Roundtables in Faribault

Faribault, MN — On Saturday, math teacher Jake Johnson held a roundtable with over two dozen community members in Faribault, Rice County. Attendees included local small business owners, school board members, educators, organizers, parents, and more.

"Our communities are facing a bad combination of rising costs and decreasing investments," said Jake Johnson. "I appreciated the chance to hear directly from folks in Faribault yesterday about the challenges they’re dealing with. It builds on so many of the same concerns I heard at our 21 public, in-person town hall meetings this summer, and I’ll keep showing up and listening to the people of southern Minnesota, so that I can be a strong advocate for our communities in Washington.”

Education was a key concern, with folks frustrated by the lack of investments and the repeated pattern of resources being stripped away. One local leader shared his frustration that so much money was being spent on a war in Iran, while our schools struggle to make ends meet. Multiple participants shared their belief that representatives need to work for their constituents not their donors, to which Jake agreed. Jake takes no money from corporations and received an A from the nonpartisan Political Integrity Index, while Finstad received an F.