This past year was marked by a global pandemic, destructive and extreme weather events, and a Movement for social change. Linn County Supervisor Chair Stacey Walker addressed these challenges head-on during Linn County’s virtual State of the County address on April 29, 2021 during National County Government Month. The video presentation was followed by a live Q&A session moderated by League of Women Voters Linn County.
Supervisor Walker’s presentation focused on resiliency by looking back at the enormous challenges of 2020 while looking ahead to the future and the opportunities it presents.
“It is hard to articulate just how challenging this past year has been…The pandemic, the derecho, and hard economic times brought to light the systemic inequities that have always existed in our community. For generations, these inequities have been ignored and deprioritized…I find myself going back to the question: who is it we want to be? It’s a challenge I’ve put before this community time and again since coming to office.
“My entire time in office has been spent challenging our community and her leaders to envision a progressive, inclusive, and equitable county. The point of government is to help people and solve problems. Over the years, we’ve helped thousands of people in this community and we’ve endeavored to address some of our toughest challenges. We come to work every day thinking about how to help those in need in the present, while planning to meet the challenges that may still be generations away. This is what good leaders do.”
Watch the recording and live Q&A session.
Read the transcript (PDF).
Learn more in Linn County’s 2020 Annual Report (PDF).