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>> Rep. Fritz thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you for having me.
>> what you do for professional career, and can you share a little bit about your life
outside the capital? >> thank you I'd like to share a little bit
about my life. The first thing I will share is my husband and I are celebrating our 50th
wedding anniversary this Saturday February 8th and were looking forward to a little celebration
in our home town of terrible we have lived and raised our family of a last 50 years.
While I was I was married I've worked in the nursing-home industry as of licensed practical
nurse. I started out I actually met my husband he was on leave from the Navy and I was a
nursing student at the time at St. Louis in Faribault and I met him at a garage warming
and it was a dance and we both loved to dance and back then it was the '50s and music in
that music is something that a state with as we do a lot of dancing, to that music to
this day and as a matter of fact came back from the Surf ballroom where we've been going
for 17 years to the body how he that that takes place in February down there and while
we were there on Friday we reduce our wedding vows there were seven couples and we're fortunate
enough to be able to do that. I'm sort of have that honeymooned low yet from all of
that. Again I get back to my profession which was as in a licensed practical nurse in a
nursing home world I started out I actually started at the terrible state school and hospital
after right graduate from nurses training and it was not a good fit for me. At that
time there were building a nursing home and do nursing home called pleasant manner and
I thought what lovely name I will work there. So I did go there and I worked there for a
number of years, and that I had a baby or to and I've had we have five children 17 grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren. I very busy life as a wife and mother and I also worked I worked
mostly part-time in a nursing home so I could be with my children and family and attend
and their many events at Rall very involved in sports and school so my husband and I have
been very fortunate to have raised these children and have these grandchildren now now we are
attending our grandchildren's basketball and soccer and hockey games and it's been gone
very fast 50 years I would say you blink and it's gone but when as a ravenous we have accomplished
a great deal and were very proud and very blessed to have had this in 50 years that
we've had together. >> why did you initially decided to run for
office as a representative? >> I was working in the nursing home industry
and I worked for over 30 years and the last I would say 25 years of that more conscious
of the problems that are in the health care. Particularly in the nursing home area where
I loved my work it was a very I did it because I was trained as a nurse and I was able to
serve and administer help and care to people who really needed it and I have the knowledge
and the training to deliver that care. However when you get into the work world the real
world it's different. I know this bill today nurses tell me it's a whole lot different
than it was in nurses' training and it is of course in any profession but actually in
nursing I think it's worse because I was the nurse the LP and there was an are and who
oversaw everything and then myself for 60 patients. That was everything when I think
back I was young I was 21 years old and have a lot of energy and ability and desire so
I did that for many years but I wasn't the only one doing at the other nurses and nursing
assistants were also just as I think overworked frazzled and I did that for many many years
and always the break room or after work or something talked about we have got to do something
to make this better were walking a thin line here is trying to administer it's almost like
triage in which was ridiculous so I became more politically aware of what it cost and
the fact that we were basically a very low on the food chain and worked within the system
for many years trying to and did come up here I would drive here and testified as a citizen
for the issues and I would bring residents with me and the old days at we could do that
I had a station wagon we put a wheelchair in the back and bring up a couple of wonderful
women who wanted to tell their story very courageous and it builds on me. Finally I
had Allen and the family now says the wedding use Bob's name but Helen was a patient who
had ended up in my care in letters home after she had gone to buy flowers and had a stroke
and never went home again she ended up in the nursing home she was always articulate
and very able to express herself and she kept telling me you have a good gift of gab you
need to go and get us some help you should go to St. Paul and I said OK OK I never dawned
on me that I would and appears on give her all the credit. I'm here because Hallan asked
for help and I'm still here asking for help. >> can you describe the District you represent
and tell us what your constituents care about? >> come from my always say we take at Highway
35 south and I live in a perfect place he take an exit and you're in Faribault and Faribault
is where I live and reside and it's in rice county. I also go little further south and
a pickup a part of steel county and then I go even further south and pick up part of
Dodge counties now have three counties after the redistricting. I suppose I'm much more
familiar with steel and rice County than I am with Dodge but I feel, roll person anyway
so I feel very comfortable in Dodge and Claremont is one of the town's in the District and met
and worked with the folks down there and continue to get back and forth and stay in touch with
them. The issues are pretty much the same, there's a nursing home in each of those counties
many nursing homes really but in particular I work directly and closely with those folks
and the transportation issue of greater Minnesota. Getting to and from safely because our rural
roads and I do by way issue with Highway 14 in Dodge County which is my number one priority
there that highway has killed more people than I can even count and just recently again
there was another death and as a matter of fact to give you an instance the Highway 14
piece I inherited all when you are patient at the Owatonna hospital they refuse to send
you by ambulance they send you by helicopter so you can get there at to Rochester that
is how bad it is. I've had a bill a couple of strong bills and great testifiers and will
continue to do that. Part of that happened in the corridors of Commerce that was created
this last time I don't serve on transportation by Representative Hornstein did come up with
the idea and I thought this is very good we were included in that so at least we are at
the table and people now know hear about highway 14 they did before but they know even more
now how important this is for Ross to fund and to fix that highway so people don't get
killed. That is a big issue in Dodge County and in still county as well to the transportation
and health care issues and the jobs that for the most part lots of manufacturing and farming
and agriculture is huge coming up also in to rice county I have again I would say my
hospital and health care is huge and jobs and education. In Faribault we were able to
after many years finally pass some binding legislation for South Central College I have
a south-central technical college in Faribault and they're renovating and expanding that
so that was a big bill for me so I felt we were losing a whole generation of kids and
at this is going to enhance that whole learning peace for the kids and even older people who
are up 45 years old going back to find themselves a new profession I have a lot of of those
types students as well. It's hard you can afford to go to school and dry back-and-forth
to the cities or Mankato because workers were also it's a struggle so the struggles are
the same throughout those districts down there and I think there unique and to greater Minnesota
I feel I'm a strong voice for them because I'm one of them.
>> if given the chance, who would like to be for a day or who would you like to exchange
rules with? >> wouldn't it be great to be pope Francis?
he is my new hero. It is always been Mother Teresa, I have great admiration for her and
at the dedication that she had for the poor and the impact that is such a small humble
person had on this world. When you say one vote does it matter I guess it does because
one person certainly matters and I would love to give up all this worldly trappings and
be able to the right thing every day as she did so I would trade with her. . .