The residents of Rep. Henry Kalis’s district, including those in Faribault County, will lose a long-time representative at the end of this session when Kalis retires after 14 terms in office. Many residents of Freeborn County will remember Kalis; he used to represent part of the county.

In all those years at the capital, Kalis distinguished himself as a warrior for farmers and rural interests as well as a fiscally responsible representative who applied good sense to state budgets, speaking out against government debt and helping restore the state’s AAA bond rating.

Kalis could always be counted on to be an independent thinker, one who made judgements based on his own common sense and the common sense of his constituents before anything else.

His many years of service are to be commended. Kalis will be missed by his district and missed in St. Paul.