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.
Brian Hobson
Incumbent: No
Age on Election Day: 45
City/township of residence: Park Rapids
Party: DFL
Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
Teacher - Laporte MN
Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
I have been a teacher for 20+ years to every age from 3 years to seniors in high school. I expect that experience will provide me a baseline of patience and has equipped me with an ability to build working relationships, even with those who may be less cooperative.
Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.
Cooperate, work toward consensus, listen, learn, and build on ideas that will improve the lives of the people in Minnesota. Model responsibility and integrity.
Why are you running for office?
I have a sense of responsibility that does not allow me to ignore problems, or challenges and as I tell my 3rd grade students, "We have to pay attention to important stuff, we don't have time to waste."
What are your priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.
Reducing the cost of living through increasing availability and affordability of housing, Healthcare, childcare, and eldercare in rural Minnesota!
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?
First time homebuyers assistance which not only includes lower interest loans, but education on do it yourself renovation, maintenance and repair, financial literacy, and help with down payments.
Work to cooperatively change housing/zoning codes to make building easier in more areas in and out of towns.
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?
I like to think on small and large scales. I think it is great to offer incentives and supports for businesses, homeowners, and renters (including those who don't have a lot of resources) to upgrade their homes with energy forward appliances like heat pumps, and also enter into small scale energy production with small solar installations.
Even here in our climate sweet spot we are encountering the high variability and swings that climate change seems to bring. Very wet or very dry periods that make our surface water, forests, and groundwater the envy of many states and around the world. We have to make sure that we are good stewards.
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.
To my third graders, learning is not efficient. Each of them has interests, talents, strengths, and challenges. The cost to meet the basic needs of people varies for this very same reason. Not everyone has the same needs.
In my personal life, I am frugal. I expect that of my government, and I am also realistic in that I understand policy and programs may take time. We may not see the benefit immediately, but in the longer term, and sometimes even in generational time scales.
How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in government?
By modeling responsibility, honesty, and cooperation, and expecting that of those who serve in governement.
Krista Knudsen
Incumbent: Yes
Party: Republican
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
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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