It is hard to believe it is already October! When the 2019 legislative session ended in April, I said I would be busy over the summer meeting with different groups and constituents to learn more about them, and how I can better serve our district and state.
During this interim, I was chosen to serve on the 21st Century Energy Policy Development Task Force. We are living in a rapidly changing world when it comes to electric generation, and the task force is studying the needed capacity, reliability and resilience of the electric grid. This issue impacts every Hoosier throughout Indiana because I know it is never good when the lights go out at home or at our businesses.
Throughout this experience, I had the opportunity to visit a coal mine and coal-fired powered plant partially owned by the Indiana Municipal Power Agency. During this tour, I learned this plant is one of the newest, cleanest and most efficient operations in the nation. I also visited the Cook Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan, which is owned by Indiana Michigan Power. This plant has been in operation since the mid-1970s. But with continued investment, it could produce enough power to provide electricity for the city of Indianapolis twice over. Both of these plants are critical to the baseload of power for Indiana consumers.
However, this task force is not the only group learning about electrical resources. I spent some time at Maconauqah Middle School visiting its Engineering Brightness Program where students are building solar-powered lanterns from scratch to send to people in need in Guatemala and Liberia. While working on this project, students are also sharpening their science, technology, engineering and math skills. It is impressive to see students engage in hands-on learning while making a difference. Kudos to Miss Rachel Smith and staff at Maconaquah Middle School for sharing this extremely valuable experience with our students.
This summer of learning does not stop at power plants and school engineering programs. I recently toured the Tyson Fresh Meats processing facility in Logansport. It was an amazing experience to learn more about a company employing hundreds of local workers, and investing millions of dollars in our state’s economy by purchasing goods from local farms. As a farmer in these challenging times, I understand how vital it is to have a market for this essential industry to sell its products.
This is just a brief update on only a few of the things I’ve been working on this interim. Soon,I will share more about legislation I will be authoring. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you if you have any input to share prior to the start of the 2020 session in January. Please contact my office at H23@iga.in.gov. As always, it’s your state government, so participate in it!
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State Rep. Ethan Manning (R-Denver) represents House District 23,
which includes portions of Cass, Fulton and Miami counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
