December 25, 2024 • 55 mins
Senator Judy Seeberger's journey from evaluating complex legal matters as a lawyer to shaping policy in the Senate is nothing short of inspiring We welcomed her on the Hometown Hero Outdoors Podcast to share how her diverse career path—from lawyer to public school teacher, paramedic, and eventually a Minnesota senator—has shaped her unwavering dedication to public service. Her commitment to veterans and first responders remains a focal point, especially through her collaboration with Hometown Hero Outdoors. Even when legislative hurdles arise, Senator Seeberger stands resolute in her mission to garner bipartisan support for initiatives benefiting our nation's heroes.
Balancing multiple roles in public service requires a unique blend of passion and resilience, and Senator Seeberger embodies both. Managing her duties as a senator and paramedic, she offers a firsthand account of the intricacies and satisfactions of her multifaceted career. Her story is one of continuous evolution, from her initial role as an insurance defense attorney to becoming an educator motivated by her son's needs. The scenic backdrop of Washington and Dakota counties in Minnesota adds a touch of home to her narrative, highlighting the community she proudly serves and the collaborative projects she's spearheaded for military service members and first responders.
Mental health advocacy is a vital conversation we tackle with Senator Seeberger, focusing on the pressing need for resources and stigma reduction. Sharing personal and professional insights, she underscores the importance of mental health support systems, from innovative therapies to community events. Her initiatives are deeply personal, drawing from her own experiences and connections, such as her husband's 31-year service in the Navy. Senator Seeberger's dedication transcends political divides, as she champions for both military families and law enforcement, demonstrating a powerful commitment to her constituents and a desire to uplift those who serve.
Produced by Phil Ewert Productions
Theme Music: Hero's Journey
Joel Loopez Tunepocket.com
Licensed by: Phil Ewert Productions
hometownherooutdoors.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the land of 10,000 lakes, a remarkable movement
was born.
Welcome to Hometown HeroOutdoors.
We are dedicated to honoringour military service members,
veterans and first responders byproviding them with
unforgettable outdoorrecreational opportunities.
We believe those who haveserved and sacrificed so much
(00:24):
for our country and communitiesdeserve a chance to reclaim
their spirit and find healing inthe great outdoors.
This is Hometown Hero Outdoors.
Welcome to the Hometown HeroOutdoors Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Here is your host, chris Tatro.
Hello everyone, welcome back tothe Hometown Hero Outdoors
podcast.
Today I'm excited to have asenator on from the state of
Minnesota here.
Her name is Senator JudySeberger.
Last year I was able to meetthe senator regarding Hometown
(01:19):
Hero Outdoors and the thingsthat we do for our nation's
heroes, that we do for ournation's heroes and we had some
unique conversations.
And last year Senator actuallysponsored and authored one of
our bills that went over to thelast session.
Unfortunately that wasunsuccessful this last year but
that's okay because we'll tryagain.
But it's a quick bio aboutSenator Judy Seberger here.
(01:39):
She has spent her lifededicated to service and helping
others.
She has served as a publicschool teacher, paramedic,
member of her local firedepartment, she's an attorney
and she is the wife ofnow-retired Navy captain and
mother to two amazing boys.
She understands the dedicationand sacrifice that come with
public service and is unafraidto stand up for what is right,
(02:03):
even as uncomfortable or comesat a personal cost.
As a proven leader, senatorSeabrooker brings her extensive
firsthand knowledge of publiceducation, emergency medical
services, military family lifeand the law of the Minnesota
Senate and law to the MinnesotaSenate.
She uses unique perspective towork diligently for the people
in her district, driven by herunwavering commitment to help
(02:25):
others.
So thank you for being here,senator.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
It's my pleasure.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You know you have a very unique and diverse
background.
You know I really I appreciatebeing able to approach someone
who has some experiences,especially with your emergency
medical services, the firedepartment experiences, being
married to a veteran and beingable to leverage those
experiences throughout yourcareer to apply them in your
(02:52):
world.
I think it's a very unique lifethat you live and you have
quite the vast experience andI'm sure that's serving you well
in your current role at theSenate.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
No, you're absolutely right.
You kind of hit it with my bio.
I joke that I still don't knowwhat I want to be when I grow up
, so I keep embarking on newadventures.
And that really has informedhow I accomplish my work and how
I kind of approach problems inthe Minnesota Senate.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
No, that's fantastic, you know, and one thing with
Hometown Hero Outdoors too, iswe don't get very political, you
know, we try to stay in themiddle, you know, and not
comment on too many things hereand there.
You know, on this last year, youknow, I think what was kind of
cool about the organization toois, you know, I think
predominantly it's pretty commonand known knowledge that a lot
of people in these professionsare pretty conservative
(03:45):
individuals.
But I think it's very cool thatyou know that we were able to
talk both sides of the parties,because it's all about the one
mission of helping our heroes.
You know people who have servedin the military, the veterans
and the first responders, andyou know I greatly appreciate
your support throughout thislast session and being able to
help author these bills andwhatnot your support throughout
this last session and being ableto help author these bills and
(04:06):
whatnot.
No, we had that one day withbeing the testimony at the
Senate and that was a whole newexperience.
But so let's talk about alittle bit about your background
when it comes to your personallife.
So let's start with your career.
What did you start with earlyon in your life?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Well, I began my career as a lawyer, so that's
how I started and that'sactually where I am right now
today in my law office takingcare of some business, trying to
get caught up from session.
And then I transitioned intowhen I was in my 40s.
I went back to school and gotmy license and master's as a
public school teacher, so I'm agrade five through 12 English
teacher as well and worked inthe public schools for gosh for
(05:00):
the past 12 years.
I also joined the firedepartment and became an EMT and
really liked that.
So I went back to school,became a paramedic and I've been
working in that field now for alittle over 10 years and truly
enjoy all of it.
And then, of course, got intopolitics and now I'm in the
Senate.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
How do you balance all of that?
That is a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
It is a lot as a matter of fact.
How do you balance all of that?
That is a lot.
It is a lot as a matter of fact.
And now with my newresponsibilities in the Senate,
I'm kind of cutting back on someof the other for right now, but
(05:45):
I still.
I still get out on a truck, I'mstill on the fire department, I
still work for another, acouple other agencies doing
paramedic stuff on a casualbasis and that kind of helps
balance my brain well.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
I mean, everyone needs an outlet.
You know, and I you know you dohave a lot of public service
out there and I know that itcould probably.
I know it fills my cup.
I'm sure it helps you as well.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
It's yeah, I get the most out of life and I feel the
most rewarded when I'm helpingothers.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, no, it's fantastic.
So you also serve the Aftonarea.
Let our listeners know whicharea that you are represented in
also serve the Afton area.
Let our listeners know whicharea that you are representing.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
My district is 41, and that runs from the city of
Grant in the north down throughLake Elmo, West Lakeland
Township, Baytown, Township,Afton, the Lakeland Cities,
Denmark Township, Cottage Grove,Hastings and.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Nininger Township, just a small area.
Just you know, it's only 41miles top to bottom, yeah it's
quite the wide experience andfor a lot of our listeners
that's Washington County,minnesota area.
Is that the only county, ordoes it just extend into Dakota
a little bit, or it extends intoDakota.
So I have both.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Washington and Dakota counties.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, so that's quite the vast area and you know I
live in the Stillwater area andthat's why, senator seaburger,
I'm just right on the other side, I believe, of your district
because I think senatorhousley's my senator but close
in afton area if you have notbeen to afton, minnesota area is
absolutely gorgeous.
Love that area I love it.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
It's beautiful.
I say I'm in the most beautifuldistrict in the state I would
concur.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
you know, I know there's some really close
seconds up north, but it's avery beautiful area on the St
Croix River, uh through Aftonarea.
The St Croix is protected anduh has a lot of different um
regulations that help protectthe area and make it scenic and
continue to uh thrive as aresource that we use as an
organization quite frequentlyactually.
So it's pretty cool.
But getting back to your careerhere now, as far as you said
(07:50):
you started as an attorney.
What type of law do youpractice?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
I practice what's called insurance defense, so I
defend people and businesses whoare sued in civil court.
An example is you haveliability insurance on your car.
If you get in a car accidentand somebody sues you, part of
the cost of their or part ofyour liability coverage is the
cost of a lawyer to defend you.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So that's what I do.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, I pop up, you get sued.
I pop up and defend youthroughout the lawsuit.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
That's interesting.
I did not know that part.
That's pretty cool though.
Yeah, and you've beenpracticing that for how long?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
28 years.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Wow, a lot of changes in those 28, I bet.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
A lot yeah.
The most significant yeah, themost significant is the
transition from everything beingon paper to everything being
electronic.
There was quite a learningcurve there, but it's better.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
No, that's crazy.
That's you know that lawenforcement to everything going
from paper tickets all toelectronic and whatnot.
That was quite the transitionand uphill climb trying to
figure out what that looked like.
Then you transitioned, you said, into being a school teacher,
like what got you prompted intoteaching English.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
I was an English major in college.
The language arts has alwayscome naturally to me and, you
know, as an attorney I uselanguage both in the spoken and
written form.
You know, as a part of what Ido.
I already had a bachelor'sdegree in English, so it kind of
made sense.
It was an area that I wascomfortable and the push to get
me into teaching was my youngestson.
(09:28):
My youngest son has autism andsome mental health challenges
and really struggled in schooland I wasn't sure if he was
going to be able to make it inthe public school system and if
I was going to have tohomeschool him.
I at least wanted to know whatI was doing, get some training
in pedagogy and understand whatit is to be a teacher, and that
(09:49):
drove me into getting myteaching degree.
And then, of course, once I gotin the classroom, I absolutely
loved it.
It's my favorite job that I'veever had.
It's hard, it's a lot of work,you don't get paid very much,
but it's the best thing I'veever done and someday I hope to
get back into a classroom.
Best, most fun, most favoritejob I've ever had.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Oh, that's good Working with kids, you know it's
.
I have a few, To say the least,we have seven.
We're a blended family, sowe're busy.
But I love kids and I lovebeing able to watch them grow
and how observant they become.
And being able to pass on thatknowledge that we have to the
kids is very rewarding, and I'msure you get a lot of that in
(10:31):
the classroom and from yourchildren.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Yeah, both, yeah, both sides the kids and the
other kids, right, it's.
You know, as a teacher, myfavorite is when I'm able to
make that connection with astudent and kind of see the
light bulb go on, and those arereally rewarding moments talking
about some of the complicationsor issues that our military
(10:55):
service members, veterans andfirst responders serve have some
of these hurdles that we'redoing.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Some of the initiatives that Senator
Seabrook is working on maybethings that stand out to her, or
what she wants to do here inthe future in the state of
Minnesota, I think those areimportant topics to touch on.
You know, that's been kind of arough run here in the state for
the last year when it comes toour our first responders, um,
having complications not onlywith mental health and their
career field in the state butalso with some of our partners
being taken too early from us,and I think there's those
(11:35):
important topics to talk about.
Just want to let everyone knowthat that is coming here and
that's we're just kind ofbuilding on our way there.
But uh, senator, then you gotinto being a paramedic and
working with your local firedepartment.
Like what prompted that and howdid that look like and how was
the training?
Was it eye opening, like all ofthe things.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Honest to God, I don't know what compelled me to
join the fire department.
I don't know a sense ofadventure, do something kind of
cool, give back to the community.
But I it's.
I have no regrets.
It's been, um, a phenomenalride.
Uh, they really are my familyand they're my second family.
(12:14):
When I was first hired, thechief said you know this, we
become your family.
And it's true.
Um, it has been so rewarding toserve my community in that way.
Um, becoming an EMT.
It took, oh gosh what four orfive, six months, something like
(12:35):
that, to become an EMT and Istarted as I was working in that
field and learning that job.
Um, I really, really found itto be rewarding and I was hungry
for more knowledge and I wantedto get trained at a higher
level and that's what drove meto paramedic school.
I went to paramedic school.
That was another year and ahalf to get certified as a
(12:59):
paramedic and I love it, Iabsolutely love it.
I'm going to keep doing ituntil my body I can't do it
anymore.
It's a really physical job.
It's a lot of work.
You know lifting things,lifting people in and out,
crawling in situations.
You know it's hard on your body.
So I'm going to keep doing ituntil physically I can't do it
(13:21):
anymore.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
No, it's fantastic.
It's that mental checklist too.
You know they have to gothrough with every patient, you
know, and everything, nothing'sthe same ever and the physical
demand I'm sure you know as yougo into the call you kind of get
in your mind with this calm andrepetition.
But when you get there, youknow you have to have that calm,
collect manner but also hitthat checklist and ensure that
(13:44):
you're hitting all the checking,all the boxes, essentially with
your patients.
And I think it's super coolthat you have such a wide
variety of knowledge here.
You know, and honestly, withthe first responder side of
things, you know, you literallygot into the ring with everyone
else and said I'm going to learnthis, you know, and I think
that's very important,especially when you're already
(14:05):
an attorney, a teacher, a mother, a wife, like that's another
feather in the hat, but beingable to see the behind the
scenes, that's significant.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
It is.
You know and I you kind of hitit on the head no call is ever.
No two calls are the same, evenif you're responding to a
patient you've already had or asituation you've already been in
.
No two calls are ever the same.
And I want to take thisopportunity to give a shout out
to our law enforcement.
I know that lately they've beenkind of on the receiving end of,
(14:39):
you know, not so goodcommentary and I want to say you
know, a lot of times I show up,I count on them to keep me safe
on scenes and I'm not on everycall that they're on, but we
share a lot of calls togetherand I see the risks that they
take.
You know, as a paramedic andEMS we kind of hang back until
(15:01):
the scene is safe.
That's their job and they do aphenomenal job of keeping the
scene safe when I'm there.
I know that they don'tnecessarily want to take on the
medical end and that's fine.
I'm happy to jump in and do themedical stuff.
But I've been on plenty ofscenes where kind of your spidey
sense goes off and you knowthat things can change in the
blink of an eye and I'm supergrateful to law enforcement for
(15:23):
making sure that they keep mesafe, and I bring that with me
to my work in the Senate and Iwill always have their back as a
lawmaker.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Uh yeah, no, it's very much a very integrated web
amongst all first responders andeveryone has a very key
component in their response andI'm glad that you touched on
that.
Um, you know there's times withparamedics, emts, whatever
whoever's riding an ambulance.
You know there are times wherethere are volatile situations,
(15:55):
even with the being hit, youknow, in an ambulance.
You know needing restraints andmedication to help calm those
nerves.
So I know that you guys are notimmune to that either.
(16:21):
It happens and unfortunately ithappens more often than it
should.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
It can be pretty common, sadly.
You know, since COVID we'vereally seen an uptick in mental
health calls.
You know that period of timewas hard on everybody and I get
it.
And I think you know the bestthing that I can bring to the
(16:47):
table is some understanding,hopefully some de-escalation,
hopefully a listening ear.
You know, and that's kind ofthe mindset I like to take when
there's somebody in crisis, thatthat we are called to assist
with and hopefully help and butyou know, sadly it doesn't
always work and and some peopleare are, you know, violent and
(17:11):
unpredictable, and again, that'swhere law enforcement comes in.
Super grateful for their help.
But you know, sometimes thetables can turn in the back of
the ambulance when it's just mewith the patient.
And you know there are timeswhere my personal safety is at
risk and I got to draw on thosetools in my paramedic toolbox
and my toolbox as a personwalking this earth for 54 years
(17:35):
and a mom and and everything toum, you know, keep me safe, keep
my patient safe, de-escalatethe situation as as as much as I
can.
Um, but yeah, I mean there'stimes we got to use the, the
soft restraints or, or, um, youknow, medicate the patient as
well, just for everybody'ssafety.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
No, that's it's a very fluid.
Every call is very fluid.
You know some are easier thanothers, but I mean, there are
also sometimes things that youtake home with you to.
You know, your wheels keepspinning after you take a call
and you might want to take offthat uniform and go home and
relax, and sometimes thosethings go home with you as well.
You know it's uh, everyone'shuman, you know, and I think
that we forget that element alot when it comes to people in
these line of these professions.
(18:20):
Really, you know that, uh,we're not robots.
You know we all have our ownmental health and our own mental
struggles and, uh, a lot ofthose things come home with you
and I'm sure you've experienceda little bit of that on your own
at times where you've been on acall, and they come home with
you.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Absolutely.
Yeah, no, there are some thatstick with me supervisors, your
friends, your spouse and get thecounseling that you need to
work through it, because we arehuman and it does stick in your
brain and sometimes it's not thecall that you think will bother
(19:04):
you.
That bothers you, and to beable to feel supported enough to
talk about it is important.
And I try to lend thatlistening ear to my colleagues
as well and you know, sometimesit comes out in, you know, dark
humor or something that maybesomeone in the industry only
understands.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
But we don't have dark humor at all.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
But we've gotten better in the industry about
raising your hand when we're notfeeling okay and reaching out
for help, but it's still as thehelpers.
It's hard to be the one askingfor help.
That's still kind of a toughone for a lot of us to get over.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
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Speaker 2 (21:49):
It is changing, it is getting better, you know, but
there are still complicationsand issues.
I mean I can think of aboutfive or six suicides that have
occurred in the last year,unfortunately.
You know paramedic here inWashington County not too long
ago, you know the trooper, therewas another police chief, there
was a Metro Transit policeofficer I mean those are just
off the top of my head in thelast couple of months and it's
(22:11):
unfortunate.
You know, these professionstake a toll, you know, and I do
feel that the tides are turning.
I do feel like there'sadditional support out there.
You know, like our organization,there's a ton of organizations
out there that kind of cater tomental health, but we all kind
of go about how do we assistthat mental health in a
different avenue, but we allkind of go about how do we
assist that mental health in adifferent avenue.
(22:32):
And then your support that yougave at the Senate this last
year and we received support inthe House as well.
I think that it really speaksto where your heart is and where
you have your goals invested.
And that kind of brings me towant to talk a lot about your
initiatives.
You know what are the thingsthat got you into politics
(22:52):
politics number one and why youdecided to go down that road,
and then number two what werethe main things that really
focused on for you when it cameto legislative initiatives that
you're hoping to get through andmove through?
Speaker 3 (23:05):
well, you know politics like anything else.
I saw an opportunity and kindof went for it and here we are.
You know, prior to serving inthe Senate, I served on a school
board and I served on citycouncil.
So I've had a little bit ofexperience in the public sector,
working on issues kind of atthe ground level that are
important to folks, and I mean Ilove it, I love it.
(23:28):
And I mean I love it, I love it.
I love dealing with everydayissues that make a difference to
people and and kind of gettingin there and figuring out a
problem and doing what I can toto make it a little bit better.
When I got into the Senate I didhave a few things that were
(23:48):
really important to me.
One of those is mental health.
That is sort of the huge thingthat kind of guides everything
that I do.
I want to improve the optionsthat we have for folks that need
mental health supports.
I want to reduce the stigma.
I want to fix some of theproblems that I see it's a
(24:10):
massive, massive undertaking butI think if we can chip away at
it here and there, make theimprovements where we can, you
know, if I can, if we can helpone person worth it.
Like I mentioned in thebeginning, my youngest son has
some mental health issues andwe've been through some
challenges as a family and ithas informed my work.
(24:33):
You know the problems we've runinto.
How can we make it better?
You know the lack of beds.
What can we do to increase beds?
What can we do to increaseaccess to beds?
The stigma that's why I talkabout it.
I talk about it with hispermission, um to normalize
talking about mental healthissues.
You know, when someone's notdoing well, let's be able to
(24:55):
talk about it, not make fun ofthem or not, you know, sweep it
under the rug, um.
So all that stuff has has kindof been this, this huge mental
health, um substance usedisorder, kind of huge issue
that I'm trying to tackle on alot of different fronts.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Mental health is a huge one and I appreciate you
being forward with it all.
You know I'm in therapy.
I've been going to therapy forquite a while, you know, when it
comes to what I've experiencedthroughout my military service
and my law enforcement, like yousaid before, those small calls
that you don't think are goingto bother you, the things that
come back eventually, but, uh,you know, being able to leverage
that personal experience, youknow, especially with someone so
(25:37):
close to you, I think that thatmakes you a little bit more
passionate about all of that.
You know, and once you realizethis is us, you know this is me
or my family, I think thatelevates a lot of that and I
think a lot of people don'trealize how close it is to them
when it comes to mental health.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
No, you're right, and yeah, and I like to bring my
son he's 19.
And I like to bring him to kindof show the face right Like
this is my kid.
He's a great guy and he'sreally fun to be around and
super funny, and you know.
But this is the face of mentalhealth struggles and challenges,
and we have good days and wehave bad days, and so does
(26:20):
everybody, right, you don't haveto have a diagnosed mental
health condition to have yourgood days and your bad days, but
you pile something else on topof that and sometimes it gets a
lot more challenging.
So I'm happy to be able to talkabout it, I'm happy to be able
to advocate for greater mentalhealth supports and to, you know
(26:43):
, be on this podcast and keeptalking about it, because that's
the only way that we can reducethe stigma and help people get
the help that they need withoutfeeling embarrassed or, you know
, without feeling shame or, youknow, not feeling supported in
(27:04):
the process.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, you know.
That brings me to think abouttoo, that you are familiar with
the nonprofit of Bajor on thebackside.
I think you had visited withthem at Canterbury, is that
right?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
I did.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yeah, so for our listeners, bajor A Baj on the
backside is ran by Sally Mixonand a couple other partners and
they are a nonprofit out ofCanterbury, minnesota, that does
equine therapy with retiredthoroughbred racehorses and it's
an absolutely incredible way ofreceiving therapy in a
different way.
And recently we startedpartnering with Sally and her
team more with Hometown HeroOutdoors, because we can only
(27:39):
carry the ball so far when itcomes to mental health.
You know we can do the outdooradventures.
We can apply our assisttraining, which is applied
suicide intervention skillstraining.
We can find mental healthproviders that are there to
assist, but then we have sallydown there doing her thing with
the retired racehorses and uhwhere.
That's a means or a way for usto be able to refer people to
(28:02):
someone who can assist in adeeper, meaningful way, because
she is a licensed therapist thatengages with different types of
therapy and she can carry theball a little further than we
can.
And Senator Seberger has visitedCanterbury and knows Sally and
them and I think you know thatjust shows that there is some.
(28:22):
You know there's some weight towhat you're saying here that
she does support the mentalhealth side of things as and as
well as carrying our bill.
You know, and uh, sally isfantastic, and so is her team.
Um, we're actually going tohost a mental health, um,
suicide prevention walk down atcanterbury with them this
upcoming september oh cool yeah,normally we do it in Stillwater
(28:46):
.
Uh, we've done it for here forthree years.
But, um, we talked to Sally andwe figured, you know, change of
scenery, I love Stillwater,don't get me wrong.
But uh, go to Canterbury,experience something different.
So we're going to do the, themental health walk, and, uh,
they'll be able to walk theactual track at Canterbury,
which is pretty sandy, so thatwill make your calves scream,
(29:08):
but you know we can endure alittle pain to.
You know, walk for mentalhealth and suicide prevention.
And afterwards the, uh, we'llhave some food available either
by Canterbury or some foodtrucks.
People can grab a beverage ifthey like, but then they can
stay for the races afterwards.
I want to say it's September7th, if I remember right.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
That sounds great, I'm going to make a note of that
.
That would be if my scheduleworks out.
I would love to be a part ofthat.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Yeah, that'd be fantastic.
So but what other types ofinitiatives as a Senator have
you had when it comes to firstresponders or military veterans?
Because we did.
I briefly brought up that yourhusband is a retired captain
from the Navy, so you said after30 plus years he retired.
That's a long time and I'm surethat you have a lot of topics
(29:52):
and passion with the militaryand the veteran side as well.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
It is a long time.
Yeah, he retired after 31 years.
The military has served us well, um, but as the parents staying
home with the kids, um, therewere some hard times.
There were some definite hardtimes, um.
So there I kind of bring thatexperience into um, certainly, I
(30:22):
support military servicemembers, I.
You know it's not somethingthat I personally would have
been able to do.
I think I sometimes I get alittle headstrong and maybe I
wouldn't have been a good fitfor the military.
But I certainly value those thatthat chose that path, and you
(30:43):
know particularly my husband.
I've seen the good work thathe's done, the benefit that it's
brought us as a family, butalso the challenges that come
with military service.
My interest, of course, lieswith the families that support
the military service members.
As I mentioned, you know, myyoungest son has some challenges
and that as a mom, well, whenmy husband was gone was was
(31:07):
tricky sometimes and I reallywished he was home a lot of
times.
But I certainly understood whyhe wasn't and supported
everything that he did when hewas in the Navy.
So that informs what I, what Ido.
Um, when I, before I got into,uh, the Senate, I was active in
(31:30):
the Yellow Ribbon Network ofWashington County.
I did that a lot, whichsupported, um, you know,
military service members andtheir families, and that that
helped me give back a little bittoo.
But coming to the Senate withyou know, the knowledge of what
our service members have chosento do for us and some of the
(31:55):
residual effects of whateverthey encountered while they were
serving or after service hasreally guided me in the work
that I do.
Now I'm not on the VeteransCommittee, but I am interested
in the legislation that comes upthat has to do with veterans.
(32:16):
We have the Veterans Home inHastings, which is part of my
district, part of my district.
So it's been important to me toensure that we're doing right
by our veterans when it comes tomilitary service members, but
broadening that scope again withregard to our first responders,
our law enforcement, who Ireally do think we need to
(32:41):
conscientiously lift up andsupport.
They've gotten such a poor,such poor treatment,
particularly in the media and bymy own party.
I mean I'm a DFL senator, right?
I mean we talked about thepartisanship and my party has
not done law enforcement anyfavors, I don't I support law
(33:02):
enforcement.
law enforcement any favors, Idon't.
I support law enforcement.
I am out there working for lawenforcement and I want to use
any platform that I can touplift them and really honor
their service to those of us inthe state and across country.
So that's you know.
It's it's having these kind ofviews that that informs what I
(33:24):
want to work on and kind of thedirection I try to push for
things when it comes to billsthat I see coming across my desk
at the legislature.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
I love your ability to come out and say the things
that may not be status quo witheither party.
You know, I think that's great.
You know, with your support oflaw enforcement and saying that
you're DFL, I think that'sfantastic.
You know, and recently you'reawarded an award from the MPPOA,
which is the Minnesota Peaceand Police Officers Association.
Do you want to talk about thataward a little bit?
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Yeah, I was really honored to receive the Senate
Legislator of the Year Awardfrom the MPPOA.
That's a huge honor for me andreally was humbling to receive
that award.
You know, I've always said Irepresent the people in my
district, not the party, andthere were a few times this past
(34:15):
session where I did push backagainst the party a little bit
and it has to do with really mefollowing what I believe is
right and what the right thingto do is, and it's not always
what falls along partisan lines.
It's what I think is the rightthing to do for the constituents
in my district, the folks ofthe state of Minnesota.
(34:38):
And that resulted in me pushingback a few times in Judiciary
Committee against members of myown party on things that I
thought were not in line with mypersonal beliefs and those that
represented the interests offolks in my district.
So I'm not afraid to push backwhen I need to push back.
(34:58):
I represent people, not a party, and that guides what I do in
my work.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
A lot of that applies with what you talked about in
EMS recently.
Was listening and compassionright?
You have to do that as apolitician too, with your own
district.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I represent my district is kind of
equal Democrats, republicans,independents, and I represent
them all.
So I can't come in and say so Ican't come in and say, yeah, I
can't come in and say I'm onlygoing to do the DFL stuff.
I mean that that only, you know, represents a little subset of
my constituents.
I have to take intoconsideration everybody's
(35:35):
interests and, you know, makesome hard decisions and and try
to walk that line of of how canI best represent the folks in my
district and serve theirinterests.
That's what I try to do, ohthat's great, you know.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
I'm glad you brought up the spouse side of things for
the military too.
You know that's not easy.
I mean it's very, verydifficult being a spouse of
someone in the military anddeploying.
Were you a Minnesota residentduring any deployments or while
your husband was gone?
Speaker 3 (36:07):
I was, yeah, in 2011, .
That was a tough year.
My husband was mobilized for ayear, he was sent off to the
Middle East, he was sent to Dohaand he gosh.
He left in March, three daysafter we moved into a new home.
So, I had two little kids theywere five and seven a dog, you
(36:33):
know.
A new house to unpack and acareer I was still working full
time as an attorney.
It was horrible, I gotta say itwas really rough Setting up a
new house.
You know, trying to be the bestparent I could be, it was
really rough, um, setting up anew house, um, you know, trying
to be the best parent I could be, missing my husband, um, it was
, it was hard, it was.
It was a really hard year, uh,but you know, we, uh, we tried
(36:55):
to make the best of it.
I always do.
I just, you know, if somethingkind of hard happens, I try to
spin it and make the best out ofit that I can and um, so the
kids and I went to visit them.
I, I took two kids on a flightto the middle east, um, and we
spent a couple weeks over there,um, wow, learning about qatar
(37:17):
and the middle east, and it wasover christmas time.
So a little known fact I don'tknow if you're aware of this,
but Santa, when he goes over thedesert, swaps out the reindeer
for camels.
I didn't know that was a thing,yep.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
We found that out.
I spent almost a year and ahalf in Iraq and I never knew
that I was there for Christmas.
But that's hilarious, but no,that's crazy to bring the two
kids way over there.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
But Hilarious.
But no, that's, that's crazy tobring the two kids way over
there.
But I mean not in a bad way, Imean that area is fairly
stabilized but it's a, it's avery unique experience going
over there.
It was a good lesson, you know.
It was a good lesson for thekids.
That not, you know, not.
Not everybody celebratesChristmas, some people do, some
people don't.
Not everybody loves AmericaSome people do, some people
don't.
You know, these are goodconversations to have when
you're going to the middle East.
Um, and it was a, it was areally great trip and, um, you
(38:12):
know something that we'll neverforget.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
What are some of the resources that you used or
leaned on?
I know you talked about theyellow ribbon.
I'm sure you know Chuck it atHugo.
He's a fantastic volunteer overat the Yellow Ribbon.
What are some of the resourcesthat you leveraged as a spouse
while your husband was ondeployment?
Speaker 3 (38:34):
Oh, you know, I did rely on the Yellow Ribbon folks
for support.
I had a good friend networkthat really helped.
I had some good support in.
There was a police chief thatwas really helpful to me.
So I kind of had a network ofsupport kind of pre-built that I
(38:58):
was able to really use.
The, the beyond the yellowribbon folks are really helpful,
um, and and just kind of folksthat I knew in and around the
community were were were reallyhelpful as well.
Um, you know the, the, themilitary piece, uh, my husband
(39:18):
was in the reserve so he was anindividual augmentee and I and
so I didn't have like a unitthat I could rely on or other
spouses from the unit that wentover.
It was we were kind of on ourown, so it was sort of up to me
to rely on the support that I'dalready kind of built for myself
to get us through kind of areally difficult year.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Very different from your active military component,
for those that are listening andthey come to reserve or guards.
You know we're spread outacross the state citizen
soldiers and have full-timecareers elsewhere generally, or
if you're, you know, activereserve or guard.
But you know, when it comes tospouses, their network is spread
far and thin.
(40:02):
You know, my old units werePine City, grand Rapids and
Hibbing, minnesota, and I livein the metro, you know, and
those are nowhere near a lot ofmy peers and I went on my
deployments single, which isprobably the smartest thing I
ever did, just because I saw thedrama happen between my peers.
But just the networking and theFRG, the family readiness
(40:23):
groups, you know they're therebut they're not as prevalent
just because people are spreadout and you're not living in a
military base and have thehousing that's there.
So it's it's pretty difficultand you know I got to.
There's a thing with thehometown here outdoors too, that
we'd like to share with peopletoo is, you know if you have
(40:44):
served, uh, in any of theseprofessions.
You know, in the militaryspecifically, you know that.
You know we do offer events attimes for the military service
member and their spouses orsignificant others, whatever
that might be, or their childrentoo, you know, and that helps
build that relationship backfrom time that's lost.
I feel that we lose a lot oftime with our significant others
from being married to ourcareers, unfortunately, and we
(41:06):
try to give that back to them attimes.
And being able to engage on someof these trips or whatever we
have hosted it does help buildmental health back where they
might put them in a better place.
And I know some of our ventureshave put people in a better
mental health state where theyare capable of maybe navigating
some personal life issues alittle better, you know, have
(41:27):
some clarity and then go topeople like Sally at Abijah, you
know, and help navigate thatfurther and walk down that road.
So there's a lot of benefit towhat we do here at the
organization, to not only foryou know, our, your spouse or
your significant other, but alsofor the family as well, where
it's a giant component or groupthat can help out with long-term
(41:49):
stuff.
And that's again important why,when we had discussed getting
this bill together and puttingit up there, I think that that's
one of the components that Ithink kind of helps lift things
up about why hopefully we canget the support this next
session.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
Yeah, and that's what I love about your organization.
You know, like I mentionedbefore, sometimes it's hard to
step forward and ask for help,um, but it's.
It's easier to say I'm going togo fishing, or I'm going to go
hunting or I'm going to, um, youknow, engage in an activity and
then, incidental to thatactivity, right Is kind of where
the, the connections are madeand and um that the help can be
(42:29):
offered and, I think, moreeasily received, um, so that's
that's what I I really likeabout your organization and
things like Abijah's, um, Idon't know what it is about
horses, but they just theythey're incredible.
They are, you can just connectwith them, um in a way that like
big dogs, right, you know, kindof this thing.
But but there's something elsetoo.
It's some kind of peace and Idon't, I don't know, I can't put
(42:51):
my finger on it, but um reallyreally helpful when it comes to
um assisting with with mentalhealth and wellness and and that
kind of thing.
So big supporter of theseprograms, especially your
program, and I'm sorry it didn'tgo anywhere.
That's more of a function ofkind of how things kind of
crashed and burned at the end.
But we're not done.
(43:13):
I'll carry the bill again nextsession and I'll advocate for it
and hopefully, fingers crossed,we'll have a little more
success next time.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Well, I appreciate it all.
I mean it was eye-opening.
You know the whole process ingeneral, from you know, meeting
with senators andrepresentatives and then
drafting the bills, going to thestate reviser's office, having
them put on paper, learning whatyellow jackets are and is it
red jackets, green, greenjackets for you know, going as a
(43:41):
bill to you to be an author,and then watching the process
play out, watching it online.
I mean it was just so much, Imean.
And then I started talkingabout going to a committee
conference and that just made myhead explode and I was like I
don't even know what you'retalking about.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
So it's a lot.
It's a foreign world, you know,and to be honest with you,
before I got elected I wasn'tall that familiar with it myself
either.
Um, I learned fast.
It is kind of a strange process, um, and you know I I commend
you for jumping right in and andand learning it, um and again.
(44:19):
I'm happy to help happy to keepworking on it and keeping the
sponsor and the author to moveit through.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
I was lucky.
I had a couple lobbyists thatkind of lent me some advice over
time.
Bill Struzinski, you know, he'sup in the Scandia area a long
time, been working at thegovernor's office for a while
and now he's a lobbyist forquite a while.
The MPPOA lent me some otherlobbyists, just different advice
, you know, and it'sintimidating.
(44:48):
You know getting down there Imean, I'm not someone who puts
on a suit often, so you knowgetting down there and trying to
rub elbows and let people knowwho you are and why they should
give your organization money.
You know that's a big hill toclimb but it was very
eye-opening I feel morecomfortable with it and then
having conversations andrelationships with the senator
(45:11):
here and then otherrepresentatives.
Representative Hill is actuallymy neighbor.
He carried our house.
He's just a couple houses down,so it was very eye-opening and
interesting and rewarding.
A lot of learning.
This is your financial copMoney Minute.
Speaker 4 (45:32):
Nothing starts with a plan.
Unless you have a budget, youcan't pay off debt, just like
you can't really technicallysave for retirement and a
vacation and other thingswithout understanding what your
budget is.
And so I had to get a grasp ofwhat my outflow versus my inflow
was, and I kind of came to arealization that you know, we
have this gift in lawenforcement called overtime
(45:53):
right, and far too many of ususe overtime as a mechanism to
elevate our standard of living.
Well, I changed and said youknow what we're going to use
overtime to build our financialstrength and I'm going to use it
to accelerate things.
This is your financial copMoney Minute.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
But yeah, so you know , with your political journey
and what, just real quick, whatare some initiatives that you're
thinking about engaging thisnext session?
That's literally just aroundthe corner, almost legislation.
Speaker 3 (46:37):
this past session I was a part of I was co-chair of
the EMS task force that wentaround the state and learned
about some of the issues thatour various EMS agencies are
facing in greater Minnesota andsuburban areas and urban
districts, and it's stuff thatwe all kind of knew about.
But we really took a deep divein and started tackling some of
those issues.
We're going to be coming upwith a report here in a few
(46:58):
weeks with some recommendationson ways to improve how we
deliver pre-hospital care herein the state of Minnesota.
So we started that process justthis past session with some
fundings, some emergency aid andsome other initiatives.
(47:18):
When it comes to, we're kind ofreimagining how we do EMS and
we're just starting on thatprocess.
So what I'd like to see is Iwant to build out kind of a more
vibrant system in the state,particularly in greater
Minnesota, where you havegeographical challenges and
staffing challenges, which leadsto response times that are too
(47:39):
long and transport times thatare too long, we keep closing
hospitals.
You know you got to drivefarther.
So how do we?
How do we make it better?
I'd like to incorporate moretelehealth.
Right, if we have a paramedicon scene and we can get a doc to
kind of coordinate, maybe wecan provide more care to the
patient in their home so theydon't have to go to the ER,
(48:07):
which, as we know, are full.
Our hospitals are all full.
So if we can take some of theburden off of that and kind of
transition how we providepre-hospital care, I would like
to see if we can build that outa little bit.
So I have a lot of ideas in myhead of how we can improve EMS
delivery here in the state andI'm kind of excited to start
rolling that out.
That's a huge initiative for methat builds into the mental
(48:27):
health piece.
You know a lot of folks incrisis mental health crisis or
even before they get to a mentalhealth crisis are coming to our
emergency departments andthat's, you know, adding to the
strain on our hospitals.
So how can we better delivercare to folks that need mental
health services without havingto transport them by ambulance
(48:50):
to an emergency department wherethey may or may not get care,
where they may get boardedwaiting for a bed.
How can we improve that systemupstream to help people sooner
and help them in their own homes, in their own communities?
So those are, those are.
You know, I talked about themental health piece that plays
into it when it comes toemergency medical care, ems
(49:11):
services, that's that's a bigone that I'm working on, that's
in process right now, that I'mreally excited to see roll out.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Yeah, I remember when I was up on the LACS area that
was one of the things that was abig struggle.
Up there was the MS.
I remember they wereunderstaffed, spread way too far
.
I think Mora and Onemia werethe closest hospitals that we
had at the time and the next onewas Aiken, you know, and that
was not close and a lot of timesresponding to calls it was
(49:41):
first responders.
You know, with your minimaltraining, you know, and
sometimes you had to wait 40minutes for care, if not more.
Speaker 3 (49:49):
And that's not acceptable.
That's not acceptable.
We established a coupleinnovation zones this past
session in St Louis County andOtter Tail County where we're
going to have a sprint medicmodel to augment the volunteer
paid on call EMS service thatalready exists.
So we have a full-time, on-dutyparamedic who will be in a
(50:12):
squad ready to respond to anycall and that person can get to
the call before the BLSambulance volunteers, you know.
Arrive at the station and getunderway, the medic can start
providing immediate care ALScare to the patient, which you
know the numbers tell us theoutcome is better the sooner you
can get ALS care to the patient.
(50:32):
So we're going to roll that out.
It's going to be a pilotprogram for two years.
Hopefully we're going to learnfrom that to hopefully be
something we can establishstatewide to help with our
volunteer ambulance servicesthat are really struggling when
it comes to personnel and sortof the challenges that come with
running a volunteer servicechallenges that come with
(50:53):
running a volunteer service.
Speaker 2 (50:55):
No, that's fantastic.
I think that's it's needed.
It's underdeveloped areas,people spread out, not enough
training, response times.
I mean that all factors in andif you're not trying, then
you're not helping, right?
I mean, yeah, you got to engageand try something new and if
(51:16):
that's not working, trysomething different.
Well, senator, I reallyappreciate you coming on the
podcast today.
I know we hit a lot ofdifferent topics.
Actually, I think you were thevery first paramedic that we've
had on the podcast and then youwere many hats.
You know we expanded to EMS andHHO two years ago and it's
still a profession that we'retrickling into but it's growing
and, um, more EMS and fire arejoining us.
(51:39):
And you know, as we saw,unfortunately, in Burnsville
Minnesota this last year, youknow we had two police officers
and a firefighter paramedickilled and uh, you know they're
struggling and uh, we're thereto help give them some support.
I just did a fishing launchwith some of the Burnsville
officers recently and whoevercould join, and hoping to get
(51:59):
more out in the near future withthem.
But you know, I think that ustrickling into those career
fields is growing and that'sneeded.
And you know, I do have onething that we can talk about
more later up is.
You know, we've been gettingsome feedback from some of our
agencies regarding gifts.
You know so some city attorneysare translating the gift laws
(52:27):
for fire, ems, law enforcement,where us bringing them fishing
is considered a gift and theycan't accept that as a 501c3
nonprofit, where we're notreceiving anything in return and
there's no catch.
You know so, um, maybe that'ssomething that we can have some
further discussion on.
You know, and I understand theconcern, but at the same time,
(52:47):
I'm a law enforcement officermyself, you know, and if I bring
a law enforcement officerfishing to me, that's no
different than us going to mycabin and bringing a buddy out.
You know, where do you drawthat line?
Um, and we're just looking tohelp, you know, and um, let's
talk about that.
Speaker 3 (53:02):
Let's, let's talk about that.
Hopefully we can uh brainstormsome ways to make that a little
bit easier to do and yeah, takethat out of the equation.
Speaker 2 (53:11):
Yeah, yeah, um, we'll deep dive that.
But yes, thank you, senator.
Thanks for coming on.
Thank you for all your support.
You know September 7th I'lltouch base with you on that for
the walk.
Sorry, we're going to miss youon the river cruise this weekend
.
That would have been fun.
Speaker 3 (53:26):
That would have been fun, but I'm going to be up
north fishing.
Speaker 2 (53:28):
No, enjoy your time fishing.
It's needed especially afterlast session, before next
session, I've been asked about amillion times when I'm going to
get into politics.
I'm just like I'm good rightnow, but thank you for
everything.
Thank you for serving thepeople, listening and being
supportive of the organization.
(53:49):
And again, we don't dive intopolitics much, but you know,
honestly, these careers areaffected from everything, few
and far between.
Politics create climates and Ithink it's important for you to
have your voice here and be ableto voice those, uh, your
support and, where it's needed,and what your initiatives are.
Speaker 3 (54:05):
So thank you very much I appreciate you having me
on and I'll I'm happy to talk toyou anytime about these issues.
Speaker 2 (54:10):
They're so important well, thank you, senator, and
enjoy your time fishing, and wewill touch base probably the
next month or two with sessioncoming around the corner.
So thank you, senator, andenjoy your time fishing, and we
will touch base probably thenext month or two with a session
coming around the corner.
So, thank you very much again.
I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (54:23):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (54:24):
All right, everyone from the Hometown Hero Outdoors
podcast.
Thank you for tuning in today.
Please join us in a coupleweeks for the next podcast.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (54:32):
The Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast is made
possible by the followingsponsors O'Neill Electric
Contractors.
The Minnesota Police and PeaceOfficers Association.
Relentless Defender, appareland Financial Cop Financial
Advisors.
Thank you for listening to theHometown Hero Outdoors podcast.
(54:55):
For more information, visit ourwebsite at
hometownherooutdoorsorg.
In the land of 10,000 lakes, a remarkable movement
was born.
Welcome to Hometown HeroOutdoors.
We are dedicated to honoringour military service members,
veterans and first responders byproviding them with
unforgettable outdoorrecreational opportunities.
We believe those who haveserved and sacrificed so much
(00:24):
for our country and communitiesdeserve a chance to reclaim
their spirit and find healing inthe great outdoors.
This is Hometown Hero Outdoors.
Welcome to the Hometown HeroOutdoors Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Here is your host, chris Tatro.
Hello everyone, welcome back tothe Hometown Hero Outdoors
podcast.
Today I'm excited to have asenator on from the state of
Minnesota here.
Her name is Senator JudySeberger.
Last year I was able to meetthe senator regarding Hometown
(01:19):
Hero Outdoors and the thingsthat we do for our nation's
heroes, that we do for ournation's heroes and we had some
unique conversations.
And last year Senator actuallysponsored and authored one of
our bills that went over to thelast session.
Unfortunately that wasunsuccessful this last year but
that's okay because we'll tryagain.
But it's a quick bio aboutSenator Judy Seberger here.
(01:39):
She has spent her lifededicated to service and helping
others.
She has served as a publicschool teacher, paramedic,
member of her local firedepartment, she's an attorney
and she is the wife ofnow-retired Navy captain and
mother to two amazing boys.
She understands the dedicationand sacrifice that come with
public service and is unafraidto stand up for what is right,
(02:03):
even as uncomfortable or comesat a personal cost.
As a proven leader, senatorSeabrooker brings her extensive
firsthand knowledge of publiceducation, emergency medical
services, military family lifeand the law of the Minnesota
Senate and law to the MinnesotaSenate.
She uses unique perspective towork diligently for the people
in her district, driven by herunwavering commitment to help
(02:25):
others.
So thank you for being here,senator.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
It's my pleasure.
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You know you have a very unique and diverse
background.
You know I really I appreciatebeing able to approach someone
who has some experiences,especially with your emergency
medical services, the firedepartment experiences, being
married to a veteran and beingable to leverage those
experiences throughout yourcareer to apply them in your
(02:52):
world.
I think it's a very unique lifethat you live and you have
quite the vast experience andI'm sure that's serving you well
in your current role at theSenate.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
No, you're absolutely right.
You kind of hit it with my bio.
I joke that I still don't knowwhat I want to be when I grow up
, so I keep embarking on newadventures.
And that really has informedhow I accomplish my work and how
I kind of approach problems inthe Minnesota Senate.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
No, that's fantastic, you know, and one thing with
Hometown Hero Outdoors too, iswe don't get very political, you
know, we try to stay in themiddle, you know, and not
comment on too many things hereand there.
You know, on this last year, youknow, I think what was kind of
cool about the organization toois, you know, I think
predominantly it's pretty commonand known knowledge that a lot
of people in these professionsare pretty conservative
(03:45):
individuals.
But I think it's very cool thatyou know that we were able to
talk both sides of the parties,because it's all about the one
mission of helping our heroes.
You know people who have servedin the military, the veterans
and the first responders, andyou know I greatly appreciate
your support throughout thislast session and being able to
help author these bills andwhatnot your support throughout
this last session and being ableto help author these bills and
(04:06):
whatnot.
No, we had that one day withbeing the testimony at the
Senate and that was a whole newexperience.
But so let's talk about alittle bit about your background
when it comes to your personallife.
So let's start with your career.
What did you start with earlyon in your life?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Well, I began my career as a lawyer, so that's
how I started and that'sactually where I am right now
today in my law office takingcare of some business, trying to
get caught up from session.
And then I transitioned intowhen I was in my 40s.
I went back to school and gotmy license and master's as a
public school teacher, so I'm agrade five through 12 English
teacher as well and worked inthe public schools for gosh for
(05:00):
the past 12 years.
I also joined the firedepartment and became an EMT and
really liked that.
So I went back to school,became a paramedic and I've been
working in that field now for alittle over 10 years and truly
enjoy all of it.
And then, of course, got intopolitics and now I'm in the
Senate.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
How do you balance all of that?
That is a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
It is a lot as a matter of fact.
How do you balance all of that?
That is a lot.
It is a lot as a matter of fact.
And now with my newresponsibilities in the Senate,
I'm kind of cutting back on someof the other for right now, but
(05:45):
I still.
I still get out on a truck, I'mstill on the fire department, I
still work for another, acouple other agencies doing
paramedic stuff on a casualbasis and that kind of helps
balance my brain well.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
I mean, everyone needs an outlet.
You know, and I you know you dohave a lot of public service
out there and I know that itcould probably.
I know it fills my cup.
I'm sure it helps you as well.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
It's yeah, I get the most out of life and I feel the
most rewarded when I'm helpingothers.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, no, it's fantastic.
So you also serve the Aftonarea.
Let our listeners know whicharea that you are represented in
also serve the Afton area.
Let our listeners know whicharea that you are representing.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
My district is 41, and that runs from the city of
Grant in the north down throughLake Elmo, West Lakeland
Township, Baytown, Township,Afton, the Lakeland Cities,
Denmark Township, Cottage Grove,Hastings and.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Nininger Township, just a small area.
Just you know, it's only 41miles top to bottom, yeah it's
quite the wide experience andfor a lot of our listeners
that's Washington County,minnesota area.
Is that the only county, ordoes it just extend into Dakota
a little bit, or it extends intoDakota.
So I have both.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Washington and Dakota counties.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, so that's quite the vast area and you know I
live in the Stillwater area andthat's why, senator seaburger,
I'm just right on the other side, I believe, of your district
because I think senatorhousley's my senator but close
in afton area if you have notbeen to afton, minnesota area is
absolutely gorgeous.
Love that area I love it.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
It's beautiful.
I say I'm in the most beautifuldistrict in the state I would
concur.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
you know, I know there's some really close
seconds up north, but it's avery beautiful area on the St
Croix River, uh through Aftonarea.
The St Croix is protected anduh has a lot of different um
regulations that help protectthe area and make it scenic and
continue to uh thrive as aresource that we use as an
organization quite frequentlyactually.
So it's pretty cool.
But getting back to your careerhere now, as far as you said
(07:50):
you started as an attorney.
What type of law do youpractice?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
I practice what's called insurance defense, so I
defend people and businesses whoare sued in civil court.
An example is you haveliability insurance on your car.
If you get in a car accidentand somebody sues you, part of
the cost of their or part ofyour liability coverage is the
cost of a lawyer to defend you.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So that's what I do.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, I pop up, you get sued.
I pop up and defend youthroughout the lawsuit.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
That's interesting.
I did not know that part.
That's pretty cool though.
Yeah, and you've beenpracticing that for how long?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
28 years.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Wow, a lot of changes in those 28, I bet.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
A lot yeah.
The most significant yeah, themost significant is the
transition from everything beingon paper to everything being
electronic.
There was quite a learningcurve there, but it's better.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
No, that's crazy.
That's you know that lawenforcement to everything going
from paper tickets all toelectronic and whatnot.
That was quite the transitionand uphill climb trying to
figure out what that looked like.
Then you transitioned, you said, into being a school teacher,
like what got you prompted intoteaching English.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
I was an English major in college.
The language arts has alwayscome naturally to me and, you
know, as an attorney I uselanguage both in the spoken and
written form.
You know, as a part of what Ido.
I already had a bachelor'sdegree in English, so it kind of
made sense.
It was an area that I wascomfortable and the push to get
me into teaching was my youngestson.
(09:28):
My youngest son has autism andsome mental health challenges
and really struggled in schooland I wasn't sure if he was
going to be able to make it inthe public school system and if
I was going to have tohomeschool him.
I at least wanted to know whatI was doing, get some training
in pedagogy and understand whatit is to be a teacher, and that
(09:49):
drove me into getting myteaching degree.
And then, of course, once I gotin the classroom, I absolutely
loved it.
It's my favorite job that I'veever had.
It's hard, it's a lot of work,you don't get paid very much,
but it's the best thing I'veever done and someday I hope to
get back into a classroom.
Best, most fun, most favoritejob I've ever had.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Oh, that's good Working with kids, you know it's
.
I have a few, To say the least,we have seven.
We're a blended family, sowe're busy.
But I love kids and I lovebeing able to watch them grow
and how observant they become.
And being able to pass on thatknowledge that we have to the
kids is very rewarding, and I'msure you get a lot of that in
(10:31):
the classroom and from yourchildren.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Yeah, both, yeah, both sides the kids and the
other kids, right, it's.
You know, as a teacher, myfavorite is when I'm able to
make that connection with astudent and kind of see the
light bulb go on, and those arereally rewarding moments talking
about some of the complicationsor issues that our military
(10:55):
service members, veterans andfirst responders serve have some
of these hurdles that we'redoing.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Some of the initiatives that Senator
Seabrook is working on maybethings that stand out to her, or
what she wants to do here inthe future in the state of
Minnesota, I think those areimportant topics to touch on.
You know, that's been kind of arough run here in the state for
the last year when it comes toour our first responders, um,
having complications not onlywith mental health and their
career field in the state butalso with some of our partners
being taken too early from us,and I think there's those
(11:35):
important topics to talk about.
Just want to let everyone knowthat that is coming here and
that's we're just kind ofbuilding on our way there.
But uh, senator, then you gotinto being a paramedic and
working with your local firedepartment.
Like what prompted that and howdid that look like and how was
the training?
Was it eye opening, like all ofthe things.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Honest to God, I don't know what compelled me to
join the fire department.
I don't know a sense ofadventure, do something kind of
cool, give back to the community.
But I it's.
I have no regrets.
It's been, um, a phenomenalride.
Uh, they really are my familyand they're my second family.
(12:14):
When I was first hired, thechief said you know this, we
become your family.
And it's true.
Um, it has been so rewarding toserve my community in that way.
Um, becoming an EMT.
It took, oh gosh what four orfive, six months, something like
(12:35):
that, to become an EMT and Istarted as I was working in that
field and learning that job.
Um, I really, really found itto be rewarding and I was hungry
for more knowledge and I wantedto get trained at a higher
level and that's what drove meto paramedic school.
I went to paramedic school.
That was another year and ahalf to get certified as a
(12:59):
paramedic and I love it, Iabsolutely love it.
I'm going to keep doing ituntil my body I can't do it
anymore.
It's a really physical job.
It's a lot of work.
You know lifting things,lifting people in and out,
crawling in situations.
You know it's hard on your body.
So I'm going to keep doing ituntil physically I can't do it
(13:21):
anymore.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
No, it's fantastic.
It's that mental checklist too.
You know they have to gothrough with every patient, you
know, and everything, nothing'sthe same ever and the physical
demand I'm sure you know as yougo into the call you kind of get
in your mind with this calm andrepetition.
But when you get there, youknow you have to have that calm,
collect manner but also hitthat checklist and ensure that
(13:44):
you're hitting all the checking,all the boxes, essentially with
your patients.
And I think it's super coolthat you have such a wide
variety of knowledge here.
You know, and honestly, withthe first responder side of
things, you know, you literallygot into the ring with everyone
else and said I'm going to learnthis, you know, and I think
that's very important,especially when you're already
(14:05):
an attorney, a teacher, a mother, a wife, like that's another
feather in the hat, but beingable to see the behind the
scenes, that's significant.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
It is.
You know and I you kind of hitit on the head no call is ever.
No two calls are the same, evenif you're responding to a
patient you've already had or asituation you've already been in
.
No two calls are ever the same.
And I want to take thisopportunity to give a shout out
to our law enforcement.
I know that lately they've beenkind of on the receiving end of,
(14:39):
you know, not so goodcommentary and I want to say you
know, a lot of times I show up,I count on them to keep me safe
on scenes and I'm not on everycall that they're on, but we
share a lot of calls togetherand I see the risks that they
take.
You know, as a paramedic andEMS we kind of hang back until
(15:01):
the scene is safe.
That's their job and they do aphenomenal job of keeping the
scene safe when I'm there.
I know that they don'tnecessarily want to take on the
medical end and that's fine.
I'm happy to jump in and do themedical stuff.
But I've been on plenty ofscenes where kind of your spidey
sense goes off and you knowthat things can change in the
blink of an eye and I'm supergrateful to law enforcement for
(15:23):
making sure that they keep mesafe, and I bring that with me
to my work in the Senate and Iwill always have their back as a
lawmaker.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Uh yeah, no, it's very much a very integrated web
amongst all first responders andeveryone has a very key
component in their response andI'm glad that you touched on
that.
Um, you know there's times withparamedics, emts, whatever
whoever's riding an ambulance.
You know there are times wherethere are volatile situations,
(15:55):
even with the being hit, youknow, in an ambulance.
You know needing restraints andmedication to help calm those
nerves.
So I know that you guys are notimmune to that either.
(16:21):
It happens and unfortunately ithappens more often than it
should.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
It can be pretty common, sadly.
You know, since COVID we'vereally seen an uptick in mental
health calls.
You know that period of timewas hard on everybody and I get
it.
And I think you know the bestthing that I can bring to the
(16:47):
table is some understanding,hopefully some de-escalation,
hopefully a listening ear.
You know, and that's kind ofthe mindset I like to take when
there's somebody in crisis, thatthat we are called to assist
with and hopefully help and butyou know, sadly it doesn't
always work and and some peopleare are, you know, violent and
(17:11):
unpredictable, and again, that'swhere law enforcement comes in.
Super grateful for their help.
But you know, sometimes thetables can turn in the back of
the ambulance when it's just mewith the patient.
And you know there are timeswhere my personal safety is at
risk and I got to draw on thosetools in my paramedic toolbox
and my toolbox as a personwalking this earth for 54 years
(17:35):
and a mom and and everything toum, you know, keep me safe, keep
my patient safe, de-escalatethe situation as as as much as I
can.
Um, but yeah, I mean there'stimes we got to use the, the
soft restraints or, or, um, youknow, medicate the patient as
well, just for everybody'ssafety.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
No, that's it's a very fluid.
Every call is very fluid.
You know some are easier thanothers, but I mean, there are
also sometimes things that youtake home with you to.
You know, your wheels keepspinning after you take a call
and you might want to take offthat uniform and go home and
relax, and sometimes thosethings go home with you as well.
You know it's uh, everyone'shuman, you know, and I think
that we forget that element alot when it comes to people in
these line of these professions.
(18:20):
Really, you know that, uh,we're not robots.
You know we all have our ownmental health and our own mental
struggles and, uh, a lot ofthose things come home with you
and I'm sure you've experienceda little bit of that on your own
at times where you've been on acall, and they come home with
you.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Absolutely.
Yeah, no, there are some thatstick with me supervisors, your
friends, your spouse and get thecounseling that you need to
work through it, because we arehuman and it does stick in your
brain and sometimes it's not thecall that you think will bother
(19:04):
you.
That bothers you, and to beable to feel supported enough to
talk about it is important.
And I try to lend thatlistening ear to my colleagues
as well and you know, sometimesit comes out in, you know, dark
humor or something that maybesomeone in the industry only
understands.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
But we don't have dark humor at all.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
But we've gotten better in the industry about
raising your hand when we're notfeeling okay and reaching out
for help, but it's still as thehelpers.
It's hard to be the one askingfor help.
That's still kind of a toughone for a lot of us to get over.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
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Speaker 2 (21:49):
It is changing, it is getting better, you know, but
there are still complicationsand issues.
I mean I can think of aboutfive or six suicides that have
occurred in the last year,unfortunately.
You know paramedic here inWashington County not too long
ago, you know the trooper, therewas another police chief, there
was a Metro Transit policeofficer I mean those are just
off the top of my head in thelast couple of months and it's
(22:11):
unfortunate.
You know, these professionstake a toll, you know, and I do
feel that the tides are turning.
I do feel like there'sadditional support out there.
You know, like our organization,there's a ton of organizations
out there that kind of cater tomental health, but we all kind
of go about how do we assistthat mental health in a
different avenue, but we allkind of go about how do we
assist that mental health in adifferent avenue.
(22:32):
And then your support that yougave at the Senate this last
year and we received support inthe House as well.
I think that it really speaksto where your heart is and where
you have your goals invested.
And that kind of brings me towant to talk a lot about your
initiatives.
You know what are the thingsthat got you into politics
(22:52):
politics number one and why youdecided to go down that road,
and then number two what werethe main things that really
focused on for you when it cameto legislative initiatives that
you're hoping to get through andmove through?
Speaker 3 (23:05):
well, you know politics like anything else.
I saw an opportunity and kindof went for it and here we are.
You know, prior to serving inthe Senate, I served on a school
board and I served on citycouncil.
So I've had a little bit ofexperience in the public sector,
working on issues kind of atthe ground level that are
important to folks, and I mean Ilove it, I love it.
(23:28):
And I mean I love it, I love it.
I love dealing with everydayissues that make a difference to
people and and kind of gettingin there and figuring out a
problem and doing what I can toto make it a little bit better.
When I got into the Senate I didhave a few things that were
(23:48):
really important to me.
One of those is mental health.
That is sort of the huge thingthat kind of guides everything
that I do.
I want to improve the optionsthat we have for folks that need
mental health supports.
I want to reduce the stigma.
I want to fix some of theproblems that I see it's a
(24:10):
massive, massive undertaking butI think if we can chip away at
it here and there, make theimprovements where we can, you
know, if I can, if we can helpone person worth it.
Like I mentioned in thebeginning, my youngest son has
some mental health issues andwe've been through some
challenges as a family and ithas informed my work.
(24:33):
You know the problems we've runinto.
How can we make it better?
You know the lack of beds.
What can we do to increase beds?
What can we do to increaseaccess to beds?
The stigma that's why I talkabout it.
I talk about it with hispermission, um to normalize
talking about mental healthissues.
You know, when someone's notdoing well, let's be able to
(24:55):
talk about it, not make fun ofthem or not, you know, sweep it
under the rug, um.
So all that stuff has has kindof been this, this huge mental
health, um substance usedisorder, kind of huge issue
that I'm trying to tackle on alot of different fronts.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Mental health is a huge one and I appreciate you
being forward with it all.
You know I'm in therapy.
I've been going to therapy forquite a while, you know, when it
comes to what I've experiencedthroughout my military service
and my law enforcement, like yousaid before, those small calls
that you don't think are goingto bother you, the things that
come back eventually, but, uh,you know, being able to leverage
that personal experience, youknow, especially with someone so
(25:37):
close to you, I think that thatmakes you a little bit more
passionate about all of that.
You know, and once you realizethis is us, you know this is me
or my family, I think thatelevates a lot of that and I
think a lot of people don'trealize how close it is to them
when it comes to mental health.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
No, you're right, and yeah, and I like to bring my
son he's 19.
And I like to bring him to kindof show the face right Like
this is my kid.
He's a great guy and he'sreally fun to be around and
super funny, and you know.
But this is the face of mentalhealth struggles and challenges,
and we have good days and wehave bad days, and so does
(26:20):
everybody, right, you don't haveto have a diagnosed mental
health condition to have yourgood days and your bad days, but
you pile something else on topof that and sometimes it gets a
lot more challenging.
So I'm happy to be able to talkabout it, I'm happy to be able
to advocate for greater mentalhealth supports and to, you know
(26:43):
, be on this podcast and keeptalking about it, because that's
the only way that we can reducethe stigma and help people get
the help that they need withoutfeeling embarrassed or, you know
, without feeling shame or, youknow, not feeling supported in
(27:04):
the process.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, you know.
That brings me to think abouttoo, that you are familiar with
the nonprofit of Bajor on thebackside.
I think you had visited withthem at Canterbury, is that
right?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
I did.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yeah, so for our listeners, bajor A Baj on the
backside is ran by Sally Mixonand a couple other partners and
they are a nonprofit out ofCanterbury, minnesota, that does
equine therapy with retiredthoroughbred racehorses and it's
an absolutely incredible way ofreceiving therapy in a
different way.
And recently we startedpartnering with Sally and her
team more with Hometown HeroOutdoors, because we can only
(27:39):
carry the ball so far when itcomes to mental health.
You know we can do the outdooradventures.
We can apply our assisttraining, which is applied
suicide intervention skillstraining.
We can find mental healthproviders that are there to
assist, but then we have sallydown there doing her thing with
the retired racehorses and uhwhere.
That's a means or a way for usto be able to refer people to
(28:02):
someone who can assist in adeeper, meaningful way, because
she is a licensed therapist thatengages with different types of
therapy and she can carry theball a little further than we
can.
And Senator Seberger has visitedCanterbury and knows Sally and
them and I think you know thatjust shows that there is some.
(28:22):
You know there's some weight towhat you're saying here that
she does support the mentalhealth side of things as and as
well as carrying our bill.
You know, and uh, sally isfantastic, and so is her team.
Um, we're actually going tohost a mental health, um,
suicide prevention walk down atcanterbury with them this
upcoming september oh cool yeah,normally we do it in Stillwater
(28:46):
.
Uh, we've done it for here forthree years.
But, um, we talked to Sally andwe figured, you know, change of
scenery, I love Stillwater,don't get me wrong.
But uh, go to Canterbury,experience something different.
So we're going to do the, themental health walk, and, uh,
they'll be able to walk theactual track at Canterbury,
which is pretty sandy, so thatwill make your calves scream,
(29:08):
but you know we can endure alittle pain to.
You know, walk for mentalhealth and suicide prevention.
And afterwards the, uh, we'llhave some food available either
by Canterbury or some foodtrucks.
People can grab a beverage ifthey like, but then they can
stay for the races afterwards.
I want to say it's September7th, if I remember right.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
That sounds great, I'm going to make a note of that
.
That would be if my scheduleworks out.
I would love to be a part ofthat.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Yeah, that'd be fantastic.
So but what other types ofinitiatives as a Senator have
you had when it comes to firstresponders or military veterans?
Because we did.
I briefly brought up that yourhusband is a retired captain
from the Navy, so you said after30 plus years he retired.
That's a long time and I'm surethat you have a lot of topics
(29:52):
and passion with the militaryand the veteran side as well.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
It is a long time.
Yeah, he retired after 31 years.
The military has served us well, um, but as the parents staying
home with the kids, um, therewere some hard times.
There were some definite hardtimes, um.
So there I kind of bring thatexperience into um, certainly, I
(30:22):
support military servicemembers, I.
You know it's not somethingthat I personally would have
been able to do.
I think I sometimes I get alittle headstrong and maybe I
wouldn't have been a good fitfor the military.
But I certainly value those thatthat chose that path, and you
(30:43):
know particularly my husband.
I've seen the good work thathe's done, the benefit that it's
brought us as a family, butalso the challenges that come
with military service.
My interest, of course, lieswith the families that support
the military service members.
As I mentioned, you know, myyoungest son has some challenges
and that as a mom, well, whenmy husband was gone was was
(31:07):
tricky sometimes and I reallywished he was home a lot of
times.
But I certainly understood whyhe wasn't and supported
everything that he did when hewas in the Navy.
So that informs what I, what Ido.
Um, when I, before I got into,uh, the Senate, I was active in
(31:30):
the Yellow Ribbon Network ofWashington County.
I did that a lot, whichsupported, um, you know,
military service members andtheir families, and that that
helped me give back a little bittoo.
But coming to the Senate withyou know, the knowledge of what
our service members have chosento do for us and some of the
(31:55):
residual effects of whateverthey encountered while they were
serving or after service hasreally guided me in the work
that I do.
Now I'm not on the VeteransCommittee, but I am interested
in the legislation that comes upthat has to do with veterans.
(32:16):
We have the Veterans Home inHastings, which is part of my
district, part of my district.
So it's been important to me toensure that we're doing right
by our veterans when it comes tomilitary service members, but
broadening that scope again withregard to our first responders,
our law enforcement, who Ireally do think we need to
(32:41):
conscientiously lift up andsupport.
They've gotten such a poor,such poor treatment,
particularly in the media and bymy own party.
I mean I'm a DFL senator, right?
I mean we talked about thepartisanship and my party has
not done law enforcement anyfavors, I don't I support law
(33:02):
enforcement.
law enforcement any favors, Idon't.
I support law enforcement.
I am out there working for lawenforcement and I want to use
any platform that I can touplift them and really honor
their service to those of us inthe state and across country.
So that's you know.
It's it's having these kind ofviews that that informs what I
(33:24):
want to work on and kind of thedirection I try to push for
things when it comes to billsthat I see coming across my desk
at the legislature.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
I love your ability to come out and say the things
that may not be status quo witheither party.
You know, I think that's great.
You know, with your support oflaw enforcement and saying that
you're DFL, I think that'sfantastic.
You know, and recently you'reawarded an award from the MPPOA,
which is the Minnesota Peaceand Police Officers Association.
Do you want to talk about thataward a little bit?
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Yeah, I was really honored to receive the Senate
Legislator of the Year Awardfrom the MPPOA.
That's a huge honor for me andreally was humbling to receive
that award.
You know, I've always said Irepresent the people in my
district, not the party, andthere were a few times this past
(34:15):
session where I did push backagainst the party a little bit
and it has to do with really mefollowing what I believe is
right and what the right thingto do is, and it's not always
what falls along partisan lines.
It's what I think is the rightthing to do for the constituents
in my district, the folks ofthe state of Minnesota.
(34:38):
And that resulted in me pushingback a few times in Judiciary
Committee against members of myown party on things that I
thought were not in line with mypersonal beliefs and those that
represented the interests offolks in my district.
So I'm not afraid to push backwhen I need to push back.
(34:58):
I represent people, not a party, and that guides what I do in
my work.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
A lot of that applies with what you talked about in
EMS recently.
Was listening and compassionright?
You have to do that as apolitician too, with your own
district.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I represent my district is kind of
equal Democrats, republicans,independents, and I represent
them all.
So I can't come in and say so Ican't come in and say, yeah, I
can't come in and say I'm onlygoing to do the DFL stuff.
I mean that that only, you know, represents a little subset of
my constituents.
I have to take intoconsideration everybody's
(35:35):
interests and, you know, makesome hard decisions and and try
to walk that line of of how canI best represent the folks in my
district and serve theirinterests.
That's what I try to do, ohthat's great, you know.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
I'm glad you brought up the spouse side of things for
the military too.
You know that's not easy.
I mean it's very, verydifficult being a spouse of
someone in the military anddeploying.
Were you a Minnesota residentduring any deployments or while
your husband was gone?
Speaker 3 (36:07):
I was, yeah, in 2011, .
That was a tough year.
My husband was mobilized for ayear, he was sent off to the
Middle East, he was sent to Dohaand he gosh.
He left in March, three daysafter we moved into a new home.
So, I had two little kids theywere five and seven a dog, you
(36:33):
know.
A new house to unpack and acareer I was still working full
time as an attorney.
It was horrible, I gotta say itwas really rough Setting up a
new house.
You know, trying to be the bestparent I could be, it was
really rough, um, setting up anew house, um, you know, trying
to be the best parent I could be, missing my husband, um, it was
, it was hard, it was.
It was a really hard year, uh,but you know, we, uh, we tried
(36:55):
to make the best of it.
I always do.
I just, you know, if somethingkind of hard happens, I try to
spin it and make the best out ofit that I can and um, so the
kids and I went to visit them.
I, I took two kids on a flightto the middle east, um, and we
spent a couple weeks over there,um, wow, learning about qatar
(37:17):
and the middle east, and it wasover christmas time.
So a little known fact I don'tknow if you're aware of this,
but Santa, when he goes over thedesert, swaps out the reindeer
for camels.
I didn't know that was a thing,yep.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
We found that out.
I spent almost a year and ahalf in Iraq and I never knew
that I was there for Christmas.
But that's hilarious, but no,that's crazy to bring the two
kids way over there.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
But Hilarious.
But no, that's, that's crazy tobring the two kids way over
there.
But I mean not in a bad way, Imean that area is fairly
stabilized but it's a, it's avery unique experience going
over there.
It was a good lesson, you know.
It was a good lesson for thekids.
That not, you know, not.
Not everybody celebratesChristmas, some people do, some
people don't.
Not everybody loves AmericaSome people do, some people
don't.
You know, these are goodconversations to have when
you're going to the middle East.
Um, and it was a, it was areally great trip and, um, you
(38:12):
know something that we'll neverforget.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
What are some of the resources that you used or
leaned on?
I know you talked about theyellow ribbon.
I'm sure you know Chuck it atHugo.
He's a fantastic volunteer overat the Yellow Ribbon.
What are some of the resourcesthat you leveraged as a spouse
while your husband was ondeployment?
Speaker 3 (38:34):
Oh, you know, I did rely on the Yellow Ribbon folks
for support.
I had a good friend networkthat really helped.
I had some good support in.
There was a police chief thatwas really helpful to me.
So I kind of had a network ofsupport kind of pre-built that I
(38:58):
was able to really use.
The, the beyond the yellowribbon folks are really helpful,
um, and and just kind of folksthat I knew in and around the
community were were were reallyhelpful as well.
Um, you know the, the, themilitary piece, uh, my husband
(39:18):
was in the reserve so he was anindividual augmentee and I and
so I didn't have like a unitthat I could rely on or other
spouses from the unit that wentover.
It was we were kind of on ourown, so it was sort of up to me
to rely on the support that I'dalready kind of built for myself
to get us through kind of areally difficult year.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Very different from your active military component,
for those that are listening andthey come to reserve or guards.
You know we're spread outacross the state citizen
soldiers and have full-timecareers elsewhere generally, or
if you're, you know, activereserve or guard.
But you know, when it comes tospouses, their network is spread
far and thin.
(40:02):
You know, my old units werePine City, grand Rapids and
Hibbing, minnesota, and I livein the metro, you know, and
those are nowhere near a lot ofmy peers and I went on my
deployments single, which isprobably the smartest thing I
ever did, just because I saw thedrama happen between my peers.
But just the networking and theFRG, the family readiness
(40:23):
groups, you know they're therebut they're not as prevalent
just because people are spreadout and you're not living in a
military base and have thehousing that's there.
So it's it's pretty difficultand you know I got to.
There's a thing with thehometown here outdoors too, that
we'd like to share with peopletoo is, you know if you have
(40:44):
served, uh, in any of theseprofessions.
You know, in the militaryspecifically, you know that.
You know we do offer events attimes for the military service
member and their spouses orsignificant others, whatever
that might be, or their childrentoo, you know, and that helps
build that relationship backfrom time that's lost.
I feel that we lose a lot oftime with our significant others
from being married to ourcareers, unfortunately, and we
(41:06):
try to give that back to them attimes.
And being able to engage on someof these trips or whatever we
have hosted it does help buildmental health back where they
might put them in a better place.
And I know some of our ventureshave put people in a better
mental health state where theyare capable of maybe navigating
some personal life issues alittle better, you know, have
(41:27):
some clarity and then go topeople like Sally at Abijah, you
know, and help navigate thatfurther and walk down that road.
So there's a lot of benefit towhat we do here at the
organization, to not only foryou know, our, your spouse or
your significant other, but alsofor the family as well, where
it's a giant component or groupthat can help out with long-term
(41:49):
stuff.
And that's again important why,when we had discussed getting
this bill together and puttingit up there, I think that that's
one of the components that Ithink kind of helps lift things
up about why hopefully we canget the support this next
session.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
Yeah, and that's what I love about your organization.
You know, like I mentionedbefore, sometimes it's hard to
step forward and ask for help,um, but it's.
It's easier to say I'm going togo fishing, or I'm going to go
hunting or I'm going to, um, youknow, engage in an activity and
then, incidental to thatactivity, right Is kind of where
the, the connections are madeand and um that the help can be
(42:29):
offered and, I think, moreeasily received, um, so that's
that's what I I really likeabout your organization and
things like Abijah's, um, Idon't know what it is about
horses, but they just theythey're incredible.
They are, you can just connectwith them, um in a way that like
big dogs, right, you know, kindof this thing.
But but there's something elsetoo.
It's some kind of peace and Idon't, I don't know, I can't put
(42:51):
my finger on it, but um reallyreally helpful when it comes to
um assisting with with mentalhealth and wellness and and that
kind of thing.
So big supporter of theseprograms, especially your
program, and I'm sorry it didn'tgo anywhere.
That's more of a function ofkind of how things kind of
crashed and burned at the end.
But we're not done.
(43:13):
I'll carry the bill again nextsession and I'll advocate for it
and hopefully, fingers crossed,we'll have a little more
success next time.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Well, I appreciate it all.
I mean it was eye-opening.
You know the whole process ingeneral, from you know, meeting
with senators andrepresentatives and then
drafting the bills, going to thestate reviser's office, having
them put on paper, learning whatyellow jackets are and is it
red jackets, green, greenjackets for you know, going as a
(43:41):
bill to you to be an author,and then watching the process
play out, watching it online.
I mean it was just so much, Imean.
And then I started talkingabout going to a committee
conference and that just made myhead explode and I was like I
don't even know what you'retalking about.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
So it's a lot.
It's a foreign world, you know,and to be honest with you,
before I got elected I wasn'tall that familiar with it myself
either.
Um, I learned fast.
It is kind of a strange process, um, and you know I I commend
you for jumping right in and andand learning it, um and again.
(44:19):
I'm happy to help happy to keepworking on it and keeping the
sponsor and the author to moveit through.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
I was lucky.
I had a couple lobbyists thatkind of lent me some advice over
time.
Bill Struzinski, you know, he'sup in the Scandia area a long
time, been working at thegovernor's office for a while
and now he's a lobbyist forquite a while.
The MPPOA lent me some otherlobbyists, just different advice
, you know, and it'sintimidating.
(44:48):
You know getting down there Imean, I'm not someone who puts
on a suit often, so you knowgetting down there and trying to
rub elbows and let people knowwho you are and why they should
give your organization money.
You know that's a big hill toclimb but it was very
eye-opening I feel morecomfortable with it and then
having conversations andrelationships with the senator
(45:11):
here and then otherrepresentatives.
Representative Hill is actuallymy neighbor.
He carried our house.
He's just a couple houses down,so it was very eye-opening and
interesting and rewarding.
A lot of learning.
This is your financial copMoney Minute.
Speaker 4 (45:32):
Nothing starts with a plan.
Unless you have a budget, youcan't pay off debt, just like
you can't really technicallysave for retirement and a
vacation and other thingswithout understanding what your
budget is.
And so I had to get a grasp ofwhat my outflow versus my inflow
was, and I kind of came to arealization that you know, we
have this gift in lawenforcement called overtime
(45:53):
right, and far too many of ususe overtime as a mechanism to
elevate our standard of living.
Well, I changed and said youknow what we're going to use
overtime to build our financialstrength and I'm going to use it
to accelerate things.
This is your financial copMoney Minute.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
But yeah, so you know , with your political journey
and what, just real quick, whatare some initiatives that you're
thinking about engaging thisnext session?
That's literally just aroundthe corner, almost legislation.
Speaker 3 (46:37):
this past session I was a part of I was co-chair of
the EMS task force that wentaround the state and learned
about some of the issues thatour various EMS agencies are
facing in greater Minnesota andsuburban areas and urban
districts, and it's stuff thatwe all kind of knew about.
But we really took a deep divein and started tackling some of
those issues.
We're going to be coming upwith a report here in a few
(46:58):
weeks with some recommendationson ways to improve how we
deliver pre-hospital care herein the state of Minnesota.
So we started that process justthis past session with some
fundings, some emergency aid andsome other initiatives.
(47:18):
When it comes to, we're kind ofreimagining how we do EMS and
we're just starting on thatprocess.
So what I'd like to see is Iwant to build out kind of a more
vibrant system in the state,particularly in greater
Minnesota, where you havegeographical challenges and
staffing challenges, which leadsto response times that are too
(47:39):
long and transport times thatare too long, we keep closing
hospitals.
You know you got to drivefarther.
So how do we?
How do we make it better?
I'd like to incorporate moretelehealth.
Right, if we have a paramedicon scene and we can get a doc to
kind of coordinate, maybe wecan provide more care to the
patient in their home so theydon't have to go to the ER,
(48:07):
which, as we know, are full.
Our hospitals are all full.
So if we can take some of theburden off of that and kind of
transition how we providepre-hospital care, I would like
to see if we can build that outa little bit.
So I have a lot of ideas in myhead of how we can improve EMS
delivery here in the state andI'm kind of excited to start
rolling that out.
That's a huge initiative for methat builds into the mental
(48:27):
health piece.
You know a lot of folks incrisis mental health crisis or
even before they get to a mentalhealth crisis are coming to our
emergency departments andthat's, you know, adding to the
strain on our hospitals.
So how can we better delivercare to folks that need mental
health services without havingto transport them by ambulance
(48:50):
to an emergency department wherethey may or may not get care,
where they may get boardedwaiting for a bed.
How can we improve that systemupstream to help people sooner
and help them in their own homes, in their own communities?
So those are, those are.
You know, I talked about themental health piece that plays
into it when it comes toemergency medical care, ems
(49:11):
services, that's that's a bigone that I'm working on, that's
in process right now, that I'mreally excited to see roll out.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Yeah, I remember when I was up on the LACS area that
was one of the things that was abig struggle.
Up there was the MS.
I remember they wereunderstaffed, spread way too far
.
I think Mora and Onemia werethe closest hospitals that we
had at the time and the next onewas Aiken, you know, and that
was not close and a lot of timesresponding to calls it was
(49:41):
first responders.
You know, with your minimaltraining, you know, and
sometimes you had to wait 40minutes for care, if not more.
Speaker 3 (49:49):
And that's not acceptable.
That's not acceptable.
We established a coupleinnovation zones this past
session in St Louis County andOtter Tail County where we're
going to have a sprint medicmodel to augment the volunteer
paid on call EMS service thatalready exists.
So we have a full-time, on-dutyparamedic who will be in a
(50:12):
squad ready to respond to anycall and that person can get to
the call before the BLSambulance volunteers, you know.
Arrive at the station and getunderway, the medic can start
providing immediate care ALScare to the patient, which you
know the numbers tell us theoutcome is better the sooner you
can get ALS care to the patient.
(50:32):
So we're going to roll that out.
It's going to be a pilotprogram for two years.
Hopefully we're going to learnfrom that to hopefully be
something we can establishstatewide to help with our
volunteer ambulance servicesthat are really struggling when
it comes to personnel and sortof the challenges that come with
running a volunteer servicechallenges that come with
(50:53):
running a volunteer service.
Speaker 2 (50:55):
No, that's fantastic.
I think that's it's needed.
It's underdeveloped areas,people spread out, not enough
training, response times.
I mean that all factors in andif you're not trying, then
you're not helping, right?
I mean, yeah, you got to engageand try something new and if
(51:16):
that's not working, trysomething different.
Well, senator, I reallyappreciate you coming on the
podcast today.
I know we hit a lot ofdifferent topics.
Actually, I think you were thevery first paramedic that we've
had on the podcast and then youwere many hats.
You know we expanded to EMS andHHO two years ago and it's
still a profession that we'retrickling into but it's growing
and, um, more EMS and fire arejoining us.
(51:39):
And you know, as we saw,unfortunately, in Burnsville
Minnesota this last year, youknow we had two police officers
and a firefighter paramedickilled and uh, you know they're
struggling and uh, we're thereto help give them some support.
I just did a fishing launchwith some of the Burnsville
officers recently and whoevercould join, and hoping to get
(51:59):
more out in the near future withthem.
But you know, I think that ustrickling into those career
fields is growing and that'sneeded.
And you know, I do have onething that we can talk about
more later up is.
You know, we've been gettingsome feedback from some of our
agencies regarding gifts.
You know so some city attorneysare translating the gift laws
(52:27):
for fire, ems, law enforcement,where us bringing them fishing
is considered a gift and theycan't accept that as a 501c3
nonprofit, where we're notreceiving anything in return and
there's no catch.
You know so, um, maybe that'ssomething that we can have some
further discussion on.
You know, and I understand theconcern, but at the same time,
(52:47):
I'm a law enforcement officermyself, you know, and if I bring
a law enforcement officerfishing to me, that's no
different than us going to mycabin and bringing a buddy out.
You know, where do you drawthat line?
Um, and we're just looking tohelp, you know, and um, let's
talk about that.
Speaker 3 (53:02):
Let's, let's talk about that.
Hopefully we can uh brainstormsome ways to make that a little
bit easier to do and yeah, takethat out of the equation.
Speaker 2 (53:11):
Yeah, yeah, um, we'll deep dive that.
But yes, thank you, senator.
Thanks for coming on.
Thank you for all your support.
You know September 7th I'lltouch base with you on that for
the walk.
Sorry, we're going to miss youon the river cruise this weekend
.
That would have been fun.
Speaker 3 (53:26):
That would have been fun, but I'm going to be up
north fishing.
Speaker 2 (53:28):
No, enjoy your time fishing.
It's needed especially afterlast session, before next
session, I've been asked about amillion times when I'm going to
get into politics.
I'm just like I'm good rightnow, but thank you for
everything.
Thank you for serving thepeople, listening and being
supportive of the organization.
(53:49):
And again, we don't dive intopolitics much, but you know,
honestly, these careers areaffected from everything, few
and far between.
Politics create climates and Ithink it's important for you to
have your voice here and be ableto voice those, uh, your
support and, where it's needed,and what your initiatives are.
Speaker 3 (54:05):
So thank you very much I appreciate you having me
on and I'll I'm happy to talk toyou anytime about these issues.
Speaker 2 (54:10):
They're so important well, thank you, senator, and
enjoy your time fishing, and wewill touch base probably the
next month or two with sessioncoming around the corner.
So thank you, senator, andenjoy your time fishing, and we
will touch base probably thenext month or two with a session
coming around the corner.
So, thank you very much again.
I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (54:23):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (54:24):
All right, everyone from the Hometown Hero Outdoors
podcast.
Thank you for tuning in today.
Please join us in a coupleweeks for the next podcast.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (54:32):
The Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast is made
possible by the followingsponsors O'Neill Electric
Contractors.
The Minnesota Police and PeaceOfficers Association.
Relentless Defender, appareland Financial Cop Financial
Advisors.
Thank you for listening to theHometown Hero Outdoors podcast.
(54:55):
For more information, visit ourwebsite at
hometownherooutdoorsorg.
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