Friends and neighbors,
Many of you are aware of the concerning situation facing the Altura Ambulance Service. Unfortunately, what they are facing is not unique. Ambulance providers across our state, especially in small towns and rural areas, are struggling to meet state mandates for coverage and response times with limited volunteer staff.
The cause of these problems is not complicated: excessive regulations at the state level are making this volunteer-driven industry increasingly difficult to sustain.
In particular, rigid training requirements, restrictions on operating hours, and mandates surrounding minimum staffing levels have become an undue burden on our rural ambulance companies. Rules made with large metro areas in mind simply do not fit the realities of small-town Minnesota. We need more local control and flexibility, not expansive one-size-fits-all state control.
This issue goes beyond ambulances. In meeting with local fire chiefs, I hear the same struggles with recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters in the face of mounting state mandates.
If left unaddressed, the ripple effects of these requirements on our small communities will be immense. Local taxes will need to be raised to pay for state requirements. Essential services will become harder to access or disappear altogether. Rural Minnesota will continue to empty out. We are on a bad path.
I hope to meet with the volunteers at Altura Ambulance about this in the very near future. These are community members who are generously donating their time to provide a vital service for their neighbors and friends. I look forward to working with them – and similar services in our area – to determine the next steps.
I am hopeful we can find some common sense options at the state level to finally relieve the pressures they are facing. Small towns deserve access to these critical services.