Feehan and Hagedorn

Dan Feehan (left), and Jim Hagedorn participated in a virtual Farmfest forum Wednesday outlining their differences as they compete for the 1st District seat in Congress on the Nov. 3 ballot.

MANKATO — There was no love lost between Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn and Democrat Dan Feehan Wednesday during a virtual forum on agriculture.

Feehan and Hagedorn did their best to draw clear differences between the two 1st Congressional District candidates as part of a congressional forum for this year’s Farmfest.

Hagedorn depicted Democrats and Feehan as “extremists” who would jeopardize the U.S. Feehan claimed Hagedorn was “bought and sold by oil companies” and was part of the Washington, D.C., establishment that “quit on farmers when we needed them to put aside differences” during the past few years.

The two relied on well-worn campaign messaging throughout the forum as Hagedorn called on southern Minnesotans to support himself and the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to improve agriculture and public health, while Feehan touted his credentials as an independent-minded Democrat who plans to fight for rural areas if elected.

The Blue Earth conservative and North Mankato liberal did find common ground on a few subjects, though not without a few verbal jabs at one another.

Both candidates support a diversified energy platform and would support the ongoing Line 3 pipeline project to ferry oil through northern Minnesota to Superior, Wisconsin.

Feehan said he would support projects such as the pipeline as long as it went through the proper permitting process and wouldn’t harm the environment, but he stressed more sustainable energy methods such as solar power to help rural families take care of their farmland. Hagedorn said he supported ongoing oil proposals such as the Keystone XL pipeline and Line 3, though be blames Gov. Tim Walz and liberals within the court system for blocking the project thus far.

On broadband funding, both candidates stressed how Congress needs to provide more support for rural broadband access. Both also highlighted how telehealth appointments could improve rural access to health care and potentially bring medical costs down for families.

“This is an infrastructure issue and it’s also a quality-of-life issue,” Hagedorn said. “The folks in the rural areas should have every chance at living the best life possible, just like the people in the urban areas.”

Both candidates said they supported the country’s renewable fuel standards. Hagedorn, serving his first term, highlighted his push last year to close ethanol and biodiesel standard waiver loopholes for large refineries, while Feehan questioned whether Hagedorn and Republicans would do more to expand the standards to help farmers.

Feehan and Hagedorn differed on what state and federal officials should to do address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hagedorn characterized southern Minnesota as being “more like South Dakota than the Twin Cities” when it comes to COVID-19 rates. He encouraged state leaders to offer more flexibility on pandemic regulations and said Walz should give up his peacetime emergency powers.

“Let the localities make these decisions,” Hagedorn said. “Let the business owners and consumers make these decisions.”

Hagedorn said reopening the economy was an important step in helping farmers recover from low commodity prices and ongoing trade disputes with other nations. He also pointed to potential economic aid from Congress and proposals to allow farmers to enter into cooperatives to decrease reliance on food production plants owned by foreign companies.

Feehan criticized Hagedorn and the Trump administration for not having a national COVID-19 strategy. He also blamed Republicans for pitting economic interests against the country’s public health concerns.

“It’s a false choice of either open up or have a public health crisis,” Feehan said. “We actually have to address the public health side of this.”

Feehan also criticized Hagedorn for not standing up to the Trump administration over the past few years over trade disputes with other countries. Feehan said the U.S. needs to prioritize trade agreements to boost its agricultural economy.

The race between the two rivals for the 1st District congressional seat in the Nov. 3 election is a rematch of the 2018 race.

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