Brad Finstad: “I rise today to celebrate 25 years of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership program known as MARL. Twenty-five…”

“I rise today to celebrate 25 years of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership program known as MARL. Twenty-five years ago, MARL was founded with the goal of developing the skills of Minnesota's agriculture and rural leaders, connecting them with educational resources to build their influence and effectiveness at local, State, national, and international levels. In the year 2000, the first MARL class was selected with the inaugural seminar held that November. Today, MARL is recognized throughout Minnesota as the leading agriculture and rural leadership development program. The idea for MARL was sparked by a 2-year research and development project between Southwest Minnesota State University, University of Minnesota Extension, and the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. Since its creation, the MARL program has continued to grow throughout the past two-and-a-half decades, with some of Minnesota's well-respected leaders among its alumni. Mr. Speaker, as a past board member of MARL, I am especially proud to recognize this outstanding program for its commitment to educating and training tomorrow's rural leaders for the past 25 years. I wish them many more years of success.”