Hey Michiana, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Andy Rutten, a Republican running for St. Joseph County Council in the Osceola and East Mishawaka district. My wife Elisabeth and I have been married for 22 years, and we have three wonderful children: Joey who is 21, Matthew, 12, and Ellie is 9. We live in a great neighborhood in the heart of the district and attend the nearby New Life Church.
A little background about myself: I grew up near Minneapolis, joined the Army National Guard the day I turned 17 years old, completed Army basic training before senior year of high school, and trained as an Army medic and EMT before starting college. In college I also worked part time as a firefighter and tutored several classes to help pay tuition, graduating in four years with a degree in material engineering. I took a job here in Michiana and have lived here almost 30 years working in various engineering roles. In 2001 I received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Notre Dame and more recently became licensed as a professional engineer.
I am passionate that our government be responsive to the community. A common complaint heard is the dysfunction of our federal government. I agree! We don’t want that here in our community…