KAXE contacted every candidate twice using contact information submitted to the Secretary of State's Office to invite them to participate in our Election Guide.
Candidate responses have not been edited and are published as submitted.
As necessary, our news team added contextual information clearly marked with an "editor's note" and in italics, though responses have not been uniformly fact-checked. With our small team of three, we are unable to proactively fact check every statement made by candidates. But we will make every effort to make note of inaccuracies if they come to our attention.
Please contact our news team at news@kaxe.org with questions or comments or to report any errors.
KAXE's Election Guide only includes candidates in contested races. Visit our full list of who's running for office in Northern Minnesota to see who else is on the ballot.
Bidal Duran
Incumbent: No
Age on Election Day: 39
City/township of residence: Bemidji
Party: Republican
Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
Law Enforcement and Military Veteran
Editor's note: Duran's employment as a deputy with the Hubbard County Sheriff's Office was terminated Aug. 30, 2024.
Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
Having served in the United States Marine Corps, I have learned about different cultures and unique visions people may have. I have worked to compromise situations in some of the most hostile environments in the world. I learned to compromise and understand cultural issues during my time in law enforcement. I have spent time on the Board of Directors for Support Within Reach. Knowing the public and their issues is crucial when trying to help them.
Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.
Representing our Northern Minnesota values in St. Paul. Being a listener and a leader people can rely on. Enacting and revising Minnesota laws, adopting a state budget, and proposing state constitution amendments.
Why are you running for office?
It is pretty simple, and just like most of your readers and listeners, I wanted to create a better environment for my children to grow up in.
What are your priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.
When elected, my priorities will be taxes, law enforcement, education, and child care. I will fight to reduce taxes by ensuring fiscal responsibility with everyone's tax dollars. We must not frivolously spend another surplus just to raise our taxes again by 10 billion more dollars. We must limit government spending and give the money back to the people. Let's make Minnesota affordable again.
I will make sure we support our local law enforcement officers and give them the necessary equipment and resources to make their jobs easier. I would like to implement policies where sentencing guidelines are followed throughout the State of Minnesota and by the Department of Corrections (DOC). Helping make sure our first responders have the resources they need to be successful.
I support educating our children and not playing political games. It's concerning that only half of the children in Minnesota can read at grade level, so we must focus on improving education for our children to secure a better future. Not play politics with our children. I would like to see the implementation of policies that would repeal or limit the amount of unfunded mandates forced on schools.
Additionally, there is a significant shortage of daycare providers in the district and throughout Minnesota. I aim to create policy cutting back on the mandates and move towards encouraging and empowering new childcare providers and supporting existing ones.
Across the region, renters and owners are struggling to afford housing. If elected, what would you do to address the issues of availability and affordability for your constituents?
Everything that is done at the legislative level has a ripple effect. What do you think will happen if we raise the interest or taxes on housing? The money has to come from somewhere. When people say we need to get more money from the state to lower and help individuals with housing needs, where do you think that money comes from? You can tax millionaires and billionaires as much as you want, but studies have shown that no matter what you do to them, they will pass it on to the consumer. Let’s get out of that mindset. We have to bring the cost of energy down for us to work on lowering the cost of building. If it costs 3-4 times more to build housing due to expenses, we inherently have created a shortage ourselves. We need to make policies that incentivize building and lowering costs to build for us to be successful at our goal. Just throwing money at this issue will only allow us to benefit for a short amount of time and ultimately be more of a burden on taxpayers (i.e. the middle class). Creating an environment that provides growth will set us down a path for long-term success and help solve the housing crisis we face today.
From our audience: What effective policies will you support that will prepare your district now, next year and in the future to improve resiliency against climate change?
First off, we need to establish what climate change means. If we are talking about creating an environment that allows for a livable atmosphere, I believe that is something we all can agree on. If we are speaking about renewable energy, we need to discuss how these products are made and the pollution and labor it creates to make them (i.e. EV batteries, solar panels, etc.). Then we have to think about whether we can even recycle these renewables and what we do with them after they are no longer operable (i.e. wind turbine blades). No one thinks about the creation of renewables and the aftermath. We then must establish who can afford renewables and what that means for the middle class. If solar panels are placed on your house and they produce excess electricity, the power companies have to buy the access at retail prices, ultimately raising prices for the middle class or the ones who cannot afford the renewables. If you care about “climate change,” I hope you do not buy anything from China or India. These are the two biggest polluters in the world without regulations. The United States can do their part, but unless we hold others accountable for their actions, we will continue to be troubled with “CLIMATE CHANGE.” Minnesota is beautiful, and we need to keep it that way. I will support policies that keep our air, water, and land clean.
High taxation is a concern for many Northern Minnesotans. Please share any specific opinions you hold related to taxation, and how you plan to ensure tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively.
When elected, I will fight to reduce taxes by ensuring fiscal responsibility with everyone's tax dollars by voting for and drafting fiscally conservative bills. Let’s not squander another surplus, only to turn around and raise your taxes by another $10 billion. It’s time to rein in government spending and return the surplus to the people. We must stop the fraud that is occurring at the state level. We must come together and innovatively develop a comprehensive plan to bring business to our district to help keep taxes lower and get people back to work. We have to highlight a couple of things, Beltrami County has around 30% of its land that is taxable, and the City of Bemidji has only around 50% of its land that is taxable, we have to think about the district when thinking of the number of people we are taxing. Let’s incentivize business growth instead of taxing job creators out of business. Together, we can make Minnesota affordable again.
How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in government?
There has been a lot of anti-trust narratives surrounding government for as long as we can remember. To build and rebuild trust, we must prioritize transparency and open communication. I will hold more townhall meetings with the public. I will listen to the people and actually work on solutions to problems, not just political theater. I will own my mistakes. I will hold our own government accountable. I will work for the people and be a servant leader. Service beyond self, securing our future.
Reed Olson
Incumbent: No
Age on Election Day: 49
City/township of residence: Bemidji
Party: DFL
Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
NAMELESS COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
I am a small business owner and the founding executive director of a local non profit organization that serves unhoused adults. I also have ten years experience in local government. I served four years on the Bemidji City Council and six years on the Beltrami County Board. While in office, I worked on many of the challenges that face us today.
Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.
The main role of the office of State Representative is to pass a budget that reinvests in the people and communities of Minnesota. It will be my responsibility to ensure that resources and investments come back to our district.
Why are you running for office?
I am running for State House because I want to improve the quality of life of my neighbors throughout the district.
What are your priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.
I will prioritize the construction of new housing in our district. I will worked to improve rural access to healthcare with special attention to rural mental healthcare. I will also work with state regulators local government and local operators to create more affordable and high quality childcare.
Across the region, renters and owners are struggling to afford housing. If elected, what would you do to address the issues of availability and affordability for your constituents?
We have inadequate housing stock throughout the district. This pushes prices up. We need to go on a decade long home-building boom in our district. This will bring down home prices and put our trades men and women to work.
From our audience: What effective policies will you support that will prepare your district now, next year and in the future to improve resiliency against climate change?
Our district depends on healthy forests and clean lakes for our woods products industry, tourism and the quality of life that we all enjoy. I will support the ongoing efforts of tribes, counties and MN DNR to keep our public lands pristine. I will also support efforts to combat climate change and invest in a just transition to a green economy. Our response to climate change will grow new good paying jobs in our communities.
High taxation is a concern for many Northern Minnesotans. Please share any specific opinions you hold related to taxation, and how you plan to ensure tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively.
We need to increase local government aid to cities and county program aid. We also need greater state investments in public education. When we make these investments from the state, local governments don't need to increase local property taxes.
How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in government?
I will improve trust and transparency in government by continually communicating with my constituents. I will hold townhall meetings to inform voters about what we are doing in the legislature. I will be an open book and meet with residents throughout the legislative session. Also, I will reach out to my neighbors for their input on the important policy discussions that affect our communities.
Still have questions for the candidates? Contact information for all those who've filed to run for office can be found at candidates.sos.state.mn.us.
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