On the recordJune 20, 2019
I appreciate the opportunity to address you here on the floor of the House of Representatives. I rise today to honor the life of Frank LaMere. Frank LaMere was a leader for the Winnebagos, who had land on both sides of the Missouri River in the Sioux City area, and also for Native Americans, especially in the upper Midwest. Over the years, our lives interacted multiple times. I had the opportunity to work with him and see the gentleness of his nature. I will say that he mellowed out in his later years, but he never let up. He never took his foot off the throttle. He just found a smoother way to get to the goals, which were to help out his Native American people. He was a model of dedication to selflessness, and he also had more than his fair share of tragedy, loss, and demons to fight. Over the course of his life, he demonstrated that no matter the obstacles, he could rise above them, as we could rise above those and do the most good we can with the tools we have to work with. He overcame addiction himself. He had dedicated his life to being a voice for the voiceless, including securing housing, food, and other necessities for the people whom he did such a good job representing in the area. Yet, tragedy still exists in our communities, and Frank LaMere saw the need to address those situations. We collaborated on a couple of important things together. They were the passions of Frank LaMere who passed away on Sunday evening.…
