LANSING — A state building in Lansing formerly known as Constitution Hall is now the Deborah A. Stabenow Building.
Debbie Stabenow, 75, served in the US Senate from 2001 to 2024. She was the first female senator from Michigan was reelected three times before retiring this year.
The building houses offices for the Departments of Natural Nesources and Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, along with Agriculture and Rural Development.
MDARD Director Tim Boring says that Stabenow has had a profound impact on agriculture around the state and country, including through her involvement with the annual farm bill.
“These are really foundational ag-policy for not just what agriculture policy looks like across the country, but our prioritization of how we feed people across the country,” he said. “So it’s such important work that touches the lives of people on a daily basis. And Debbie Stabenow, now for a dozen years, has been one of those people that has fundamentally shaped this piece of ag-policy.”
Stabenow had served as the top Democrat on the Senate agriculture committee since 2011.
Boring says it’s fitting that the Stabenow Building hosts Michigan agencies tasked with protecting the state’s natural resources.
“Debbie Stabenow has been just such a fixture in Michigan for so long, one of the most influential people in the US Senate, certainly one of the most influential people in agriculture across the nation here,” he said.