Nicole Helget for Nicollet County Commissioner
I’m running for Nicollet County Commissioner in District 2. I’ve lived in rural Minnesota my entire life, in Nicollet County for 20 years. Along with a robust publishing and teaching resume and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the Liberal Arts, I studied public policy and organizational leadership at the Humphrey School of the University of Minnesota. Focused on rural arts, education, and environmental health, I developed a deep appreciation and clearer understanding of our rural communities, particularly the economic impact of women’s paid and unpaid labor.
I work as a Special Education teacher in Nicollet County specializing in children with behavior disorders and trauma- and poverty-informed challenges.
I live in rural St. Peter with my family: my partner, Erik, and my kids, dogs, and cats. I am mother to 6 children—Isabella, Mitchell, Phillip, Violette, Archie, and Gordon, and I am grandmother to 4–Maria, Isadore, Hector, and Orville Dale.
I am community-minded and solutions-focused. My personal, family, and classroom motto is “Work hard. Play fair. (And fight like a mother, when necessary.)”
I look forward to working hard for you.
Nicole
Land Acknowledgment
All of the land we’re on in Nicollet County is the traditional home of the Dakota people, crucial to indigenous cultural and spiritual practices and beliefs. In all our county discussions and choices, I will keep the emotional, familial, economic, cultural, and spiritual impact on indigenous people front of mind and close to heart.
Photo by Archibald LeBoutillier
Policy, not Politics
The work of a County Commissioner includes setting policy, approving budgets, and identifying goals for Nicollet County.
Some of my areas of interest include:
Education that prepares students for the world we have and will have, not the one we had
Food security for every Nicollet County resident
Affordable and quality elder care
Affordable and quality child care
Affordable housing that is well-built, maintained, and designed for the environmental elements now and to come
Water quality improvement
Native prairie, woodland, and wetland restoration
Disaster and emergency preparedness that includes clear procedures, transparent communication, and levels of responsibility and accountability
Lively rural communities that support existing businesses and attract new ones
Lively rural communities that support existing arts and nonprofit sectors and attract new ones
These are goals that will require more than any elected official's term. However, we can start or continue the conversations that lead to short-term technical solutions and long-term adaptive change.
Work hard. Play fair.
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I am running unopposed this November. If you’d like to support my campaign and ability to connect with constituents and build community, contribute.
