Some people call it the key to winning an election; others call it a good way to meet people.

Whatever the case may be, newly elected District 27A Rep. Peggy Bennett and Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag said they learned many opinions from door knocking leading up to the Nov. 4 general election.

“By and large everyone was supportive of me or open to hear me out,” Freitag said. “I like talking with people and giving them my ideas, things I want to do differently, things I accomplished in my Army days.”

He recalled one night he went out door knocking with his wife, Cheryl, in the time leading up to the election. He said he spent the entire evening talking with an elderly woman.

He said during his time door knocking, he heard some common themes.

“People want to either know their sheriff, or they want to know who their sheriff is,” Freitag said. “They want to have access to their sheriff, and another thing they want is to have a sheriff who is engaged in the community.

“They just want services to be increased, made more efficient. Overall, they just want a more active sheriff’s office.”

Freitag said some people talked about the Freeborn County jail and how they want the sheriff to continue to run that as if it were a business. With President Barack Obama’s new immigration policy that went into effect in the beginning of the year, he said counties are seeing a decrease in the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees they are holding.

To counter that, Freitag said he has been in contact with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, which he heard has an influx of prisoners.

“They’re looking to unload some low to medium classifications into county facilities,” he said.

He’d like to see about 20 DOC prison inmates being held at the Freeborn County jail.

Since he’s been elected sheriff, Freitag said he has enjoyed running into people when he’s out and about — even when he stops for his morning coffee at Kwik Trip.

Bennett, who defeated incumbent DFL Rep. Shannon Savick of Wells said during her time door knocking, she heard consistent themes from residents.

The top concern was jobs. She said people want more and better-paying jobs in the area.

Bennett said though there are jobs in the area, many of those jobs require skills that the workforce does not have. She said she would like to make sure people are aware of these jobs and find a way for them to learn the skills to work in them.

She noted she heard many people talk about health care and how expensive it is for them.

“People said they were actually paying more and getting less,” Bennett said.

There were also concerns about education and property taxes.

She said her favorite part about the experience was when she got to talk to people. She noted it was a little frustrating that probably only one out of 10 people were home or answered their doors.