Meet Skylar.

The long version

Growing up here

I grew up here in Hubbard County, on the same land my family has occupied for several generations. I went to school in Nevis before transferring to the Perpich Center for Arts Education. After high school, I attended the University of Minnesota Morris for my freshman year of undergrad. I eventually stepped away from school to take time to better understand what I wanted from my education and my life.

That time away took me to the Twin Cities, where I spent much of my time playing music and trying to figure out what came next. When I planned to return to Morris, I saw that the local fire department was hiring. I made the decision to pursue first response as a way to serve the community that was helping provide me with an education.

That choice changed the course of my life.

First response

It led me to become an EMT. I had the opportunity to ride with HCMC through their paramedic program. I deployed with FEMA to help provide free COVID vaccines in rural areas. I also volunteered with 612 M*A*S*H at 38th and Chicago, providing community care during a time when access to emergency response depended too often on whether a crew was willing or able to answer the call.

Those experiences shaped me. I saw Minnesota at its best and at its worst. I saw the strength of neighbors caring for one another, and I saw the cracks in systems that too many people fall through. I learned how deeply healthcare, emergency response, housing, poverty, public safety, and local trust are connected.

Rebuilding

That work also came with a cost. When the toll of the job became too heavy, I couldn’t access the resources I needed to fully recover. I was fortunate to find work with the Minnesota Indigenous Business Alliance, where I started as a social media coordinator. They worked with me while I rebuilt, and in return I found a new passion for technology, community development, and rural economic systems.

Through my work on a Native-owned business directory, I learned how local economies actually function. I learned about the barriers facing small rural businesses, Native entrepreneurs, and people trying to build something meaningful without access to the same capital, infrastructure, or support systems as everyone else. I learned that keeping a dollar in the local economy creates benefits far beyond the first dollar spent. That experience, along with the mentorship I received, shaped my worldview and helped clarify the work I want to spend the next 40 years doing.

The work now

Today, I work for a local manufacturer as a systems administrator. I chose that path because it allows me to support my community, build practical skills, and make a living wage while continuing to serve in other ways. In my spare time, I train search-and-rescue K9s, research and develop sustainable and repairable technology, and work on projects that make useful hardware and software more accessible to ordinary people, small organizations, and rural communities.

I make a lot of sacrifices to pursue these goals. I often choose long-term purpose over short-term comfort. To me, that’s not about martyrdom. It’s about practicality. The sacrifices I make today can create more options tomorrow for myself, my family, my friends, and the people around me. If I can give something up so someone else doesn’t have to, I see that as a worthwhile return on the work.

That belief is central to how I understand community. We invest in each other so that fewer people have to struggle alone.

Why I’m running

So how does all of this shape why I’m running?

I believe my life shows that my focus has never been personal gain. I have personal goals, but those goals are tied to lifting up the people and communities around me. Service has always been at the center of how I try to live. That’s the mentality I believe people deserve in a legislator.

A representative should not be motivated only by getting the title. A representative should be motivated by the work itself.

Whether I’m serving in the legislature, working in technology, helping a small business, volunteering in emergency response, training dogs for search and rescue, or building tools that help people become more self-sufficient, the work is what drives me. Legislation is only one part of the picture. Even when good laws are passed, it still takes people in our communities to build the world we want to live in.

That’s what I’ve spent my twenties preparing for.

I want a Minnesota where healthcare is accessible because every single one of us needs care at some point in our lives. I want rural communities where first responders, workers, families, and small businesses have the support they need to survive and grow. I want local economies that keep wealth circulating here instead of draining it away. I want our schools to prepare future generations for an ever-changing world. I want every Minnesotan to earn their bread and roses: enough to live, enough to thrive, and enough to share their gifts with the community.

Most importantly, I want to protect the gifts that have been passed down here for generations, long before Minnesota planted its flag. The land, water, forests, culture, labor, knowledge, and care that built this place must still be here for the generations that come after us.

My path hasn’t been traditional. But this district is full of people whose lives don’t fit neatly into a résumé or a campaign brochure. People here work hard, adapt, serve, sacrifice, rebuild, and keep going. That’s the experience I bring with me.

I’m running because I believe our communities deserve a representative who understands the work, respects the people doing it, and is willing to put service before comfort.

That’s who I am. That’s why I’m running. And that’s the kind of leadership I hope to bring to St. Paul.