Minnick visiting Sandpoint today

SANDPOINT — Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, will be in Sandpoint today as part of a two week economic tour through the state.

Idaho’s lone Democratic congressman is using a two week congressional recess to visit business owners and talk about the economy in small towns throughout the state, said Minnick’s communications director John Foster.

As part of his North Idaho visit, Minnick will meet with Quest Aircraft representative and tour the company’s facilities.

Minnick’s regional director, Shelley Landry, said with a very limited time to spend in the area, it was important to focus on businesses that are finding ways to succeed in the tough economy.

“We just feel that Quest is innovative and creative and the kind of company that we’d like see more of in Idaho, so we felt like it would be a good use of our time to tour Quest and really get a first hand view of what they’ve been able to accomplish,” Landry said.

Even as a congressional rookie, Minnick has been making waves in both parties since taking office in January. The freshman congressman has broken ranks with his fellow Democrats by voting against numerous spending bills, most notably with his opposition to recently-passed $819 billion stimulus package.

Minnick also made news earlier this month when he took a stand against earmarks in his district, refusing to add any into the 2010 fiscal budget. Earmarks, which direct federal funding to specific projects, are a heavily used but often criticized part of Congress.