Where I stand.
Four issues. What’s happening, what I’ll do about it, and why it matters here.
Healthcare Access
In parts of this district, an ambulance takes thirty-seven minutes. Cardiac arrest survival drops ten percent for every minute without CPR. At thirty-seven minutes, you don’t make it.
- Nineteen Minnesota hospitals at risk of closing. Seven could shut down within two to three years.
- Federal reconciliation cuts $4.34 billion from Minnesota’s rural Medicaid over the next decade. Work requirements kick in January 2027.
- Seven of eight EMS regions lost money in 2022. $66 million combined. 29% of ambulance directors aren’t sure their agency survives.
What I’ll do
- Write EMS funding into statute. West Virginia just did it. HB 5168, first permanent statewide EMS funding stream in the country. Hauschild got Minnesota to $18 million a year. Put that in a formula that doesn’t expire every budget cycle.
- Build a state Medicaid buffer before January 2027. The work requirements and the ten-year drawdown are on the calendar. A contingency fund has to be standing before they hit, not debated after.
- Get the Rural Health Transformation money into this district. Minnesota is receiving roughly $200 million a year for five years from the federal program. Hospitals and EMS agencies in SD-5 need to see that money, not watch it concentrate in the metro.
Full analysis coming soon.
Clean Water & Environment
Zebra mussels are in seven Hubbard County lakes. Starry stonewort reached two more in 2025. The DNR has never eradicated starry stonewort from any lake it has reached. PFAS is in the landfills, the fish, and the drinking water. The lakes run the economy here, and they are losing.
- PFAS detected in 98% of Minnesota’s closed landfills and 84% of fish from monitored waters. Over 20 community water systems exceed federal standards.
- AIS prevention aid drops from $10 million to $5 million a year in 2027 unless the legislature acts. That cut is already on the books.
- The current AIS formula splits funding evenly across 87 counties. Hubbard and Cass manage hundreds of lake accesses. Prairie counties with no lakes get the same share.
What I’ll do
- Weight AIS aid by lake density and boat traffic. Counties managing hundreds of public accesses should not split funding evenly with counties that have none.
- Restore the $10M AIS floor before the 2027 cut hits. Statute 477A.19 already schedules the drop. A new senator has to be ready for that budget fight on day one.
- Get rural water systems the federal PFAS money. The EPA PFAS OUT initiative and the $2 billion IIJA program exist. Wisconsin just unlocked $125 million in stalled PFAS investment. Minnesota’s small rural systems need help with the applications, not just announcements that the money is available.
Full analysis coming soon.
Public Education
Minnesota was near the top in the country when we funded schools through the general fund. We pulled back, started patching, and now 84% of districts can’t fill their teaching positions.
- A $420 million K-12 cut is already scheduled for 2028-29. $250 million of it depends on a Blue Ribbon Commission report due October 2026.
- 84% of districts report significant teacher shortages. Over 200 districts have at least one position they cannot fill.
- School library aid cut $45 million this biennium, another $47 million planned next. In small rural schools the library is where kids get internet access for homework.
What I’ll do
- Put the money back in the general fund. Every patch is a cut somewhere else. Fund schools the way we did when Minnesota was leading.
- Special education cross-subsidy to 100 percent. State coverage went from 6.43% in FY23 to 50% in FY27. Progress. But districts are still spending general ed dollars on federally mandated services. Cover it fully and free that money for classrooms.
- Grow-your-own rural teacher pipeline. Mississippi raised teacher pay 12% and saw enrollment in education programs jump 20%. Fund tuition, fund a stipend, require five years in a shortage district. Recruit from the communities the teachers will serve.
Full analysis coming soon.
Agriculture
Corn is below break-even. The farm bill is in limbo. The next generation does the math and walks away.
- Cash corn at $3.76 to $5.04 per bushel, April 2026. Below break-even for most operations in this district.
- Minnesota passed one of the broadest right-to-repair laws in the country in 2024. It covers electronics and appliances but exempts farm equipment, motor vehicles, and game consoles. If you own it, you should be able to fix it.
- Farm Down Payment Assistance capped at $2.5 million a year statewide. Corporate buyers have no cap.
What I’ll do
- Remove the exemptions from Minnesota’s right-to-repair law. The Digital Fair Repair Act already works for electronics and appliances. Expand it to cover farm equipment, motor vehicles, and game consoles. Iowa passed their ag repair bill out of committee 18-5 in February. EPA ruled manufacturers can’t block repair access. If you bought it, you should be able to fix it.
- Scale Farm Down Payment Assistance to $10 million a year. Prioritize family land transfers over corporate acquisitions. Sharpen Statute 500.24 so communities know who is buying land in their township before the closing, not after.
- State emergency fund for trade-impacted farmers. When federal trade policy creates per-acre losses, the state can’t wait for Washington.
Full analysis coming soon.
More coming on the blog
The four issues above are where the work needs to happen first. These are the rest of the platform. Blog posts with specifics follow through November.
Right to Repair
Minnesota’s repair law covers your phone but exempts your tractor, your car, and your kid’s game console. If you own it, you should be able to fix it.
Long-Term Care & Senior Services
More than one in four residents of this district is over 65. Nursing home staffing and home care will decide whether our parents stay in the communities they built.
Housing & Workforce Housing
Hospitals, schools, fire departments, and small businesses all name housing as their top blocker to hiring in this district.
Childcare
Greater Minnesota is short 42,581 childcare slots. When parents cannot find care, they cannot work, and employers cannot fill jobs.
Property Tax Relief & Local Government Aid
The property tax refund program and Local Government Aid are the two state-level levers that keep rural homeowners and small cities afloat.
Broadband
More than 121,000 Minnesota households still lack basic service. Parts of this district remain documented underserved areas on the state broadband map.
Veterans
Minnesota is home to nearly 296,000 veterans. Suicide prevention, homelessness programs, and PTSD support are underfunded for the scale of the need.
Resilient Communities & Sustainable Independence
Single-source supply chains are a community vulnerability. Distributed energy and redundant infrastructure are what real independence looks like.
Responsible Gun Policy
Northern Minnesota is hunting country. Evidence-based reform means universal background checks and better mental health access, not reflexive bans.
Tribal Sovereignty
Treaties are the supreme law of the land. The state’s work with Leech Lake, Red Lake, and the other sovereign nations should look like partnership.
Immigration
The farms, hospitals, and small businesses of SD-5 run on families who came here to work, raise kids, and belong. A humane pathway to legal status should not be this hard.
How to help.
The specifics on this page do not get to St. Paul without a campaign that can actually win this seat. If what is here matters to you, take a step.