- [Greg] Next up on Meet your Candidates is the Minnesota Senate District seven race.

This is another open seat due to the passing of Senator David Tomassoni from ALS.

This redrawn district consists of a southeastern portion of Itasca County, a southern and western part of St. Louis County, including Hibbing in Virginia, and the northern half of Akin County, including McGregor.

One of the candidates running for the Senate District seven seat is Republican-endorsed Rob Farnsworth from Hibbing.

- Okay, well I would like to thank WDSE for the opportunity to come on the program today.

A little bit about myself, I grew up in Chisholm.

After high school, I attended college at the University of St. Thomas where I earned a double major in history and social studies.

Later on I earned my master's degree from Minnesota State Mankato in special education with an emphasis on emotional behavior disorders.

I've been a teacher for about a little over 20 years now with experience ranging from teaching in the suburban Twin Cities district of Moundsview.

It didn't take too long for me to realize that I wanted to move back home, so I came up north and I got a job teaching for the Minnesota Department of Corrections at the juvenile facility called Thistledew Camp.

It's now called MCF Togo.

And then for for the last 13 years, I have been a teacher with the Hibbing School district teaching special education.

I'm also a licensed real estate agent in Hibbing, where I live with my wife Jamie and our four children, Hannah, Isaac, Abigail, and Samuel, and we have a lab named Ginger.

When we first got married, Jamie and I were actually living down in Red Wing.

I transferred to the juvenile facility down there and she was working as a nurse at the Mayo.

But when we decided it was time to start a family, we knew that we wanted to move home so that we could raise our children in the same area that we had grown up.

So I transferred back to Thistledew.

Jamie got a nursing job up north.

We packed up and and headed home, and here we are 15 years later, raising our children in the same area that we were lucky enough to grow up in.

And that's the reason that I've been so active in politics over the years and why I'm running for state senate now, because I want to keep the Northland the best place to raise a family.

So when I get elected, what are some of my priorities gonna be?

First, probably the most obvious is that I'm going to be a strong supporter of mining.

I'm the son of a 33 year union miner, and actually I forgot to mention that I have also been a union member for about 25 years, starting with pushing carts at Super One in the commercial food workers' union, but my dad is a 33 year miner and so I understand personally how important those good paying jobs are.

We have to address the regulatory and permitting obstacles that are in the way of mining.

We need to support not only the taconite mining industry, but we also need to support the copper-nickel mining industry that's going to move us into the next generation of technology here in the United States.

We also have to reduce the cost of living in our state.

Minnesota is constantly rated as one of the highest taxed states in the nation.

Inflation is affecting everyone.

We have a $9 billion surplus, and actually now that's estimated that it's probably gonna be over 10 or 11 billion when the November forecast comes out, and that means that we are overtaxed.

And we don't need any one time gimmicks like walls bucks, We need permanent tax relief so that folks have more money in their paycheck every month for month after month after month.

We also need to end the tax on our senior social security checks.

We're one of a handful of states that still taxes our senior social security benefits, and that needs to stop.

As an educator, I am also passionate about education and providing an education that our kids will actually use after they get outta high school.

The pandemic has been really hard on our kids.

Test scores have been trending down.

Half of the kids in in the state of Minnesota are not even at grade level in reading, math, and science, and we're seeing huge mental health problems across the state.

We need to make sure that our kids stay in school.

We can't have any more school lockdowns.

The number one indicator of student success is school attendance, so we need to keep kids in school, and we also need to provide an education that our kids will actually use, and what I mean by that is we have to stop preparing every single kid to go to a four year college or university but give schools the flexibility to provide an education that kids will actually use.

This list certainly isn't an exhaustive list.

We have many other challenges to face.

We have a lot of work to do, from the quality of our roads to the rising cost of healthcare.

We've got some work to do, but we don't run from challenges.

We solve problems, and as your next state senator, I look forward to working together so that we can make the range the best place to raise a family, thank you.

- [Greg] The Democrat running in Senate District seven is Itasca County Commissioner Ben Denucci from Nashua.

- Hi, I'm Ben Denucci.

I'm a fifth generation Iron Ranger.

My family has lived in Nashwauk for 115 years.

My grandfathers worked for National Steel, as did my father before he became an educator, just like my mom.

I'm a volunteer firefighter, former mayor, current Itasca County Commissioner and small business owner.

I own two mom and pop union shop grocery stores.

Those stores were going to close, but I know how important these businesses are to our communities, so I put together a team that kept the doors open, kept the lights on and over 30 people working in good-paying union jobs.

I don't just talk about keeping communities thriving.

I know what it takes.

I've gained valuable experience working in local government for the last eight years, first as the mayor of my hometown and currently as an Itasca County commissioner.

I fought for good paying local jobs like those in the mining industry.

I've worked to pass a referendum that replaced the oldest school in the state, and for a fourth year in a row I got a zero 0% levy increase passed in Itasca County.

Running for Senate is a natural extension of the work that I've already been doing for constituents and customers every day.

Times are tough though.

I talk to people every day who struggle to put food on the table and gas in their cars.

It doesn't help when the corporations our workers make rich don't even come to the negotiating table.

To help afford a good life, I'm running a campaign with three priorities: local jobs, strong schools, and healthy communities.

Without good-paying jobs, we have no community.

I've saved and created jobs as a small business owner.

On the range, mining is our way of life.

Talk of idling mines is irresponsible.

I will bring the stakeholders together to negotiate long term land deals.

I'm a twin metals and PolyMet champion.

Our minerals will transform America's economy and provide hundreds of jobs here if we stop attacks on the permitting process.

Our union miners know how to do it safely while preserving the nature that drives our tourism industry.

A zip code shouldn't determine the quality of a public education, I will put our students first.

The budget surplus, our money, is a once in a generation chance to recruit and retain top tier teachers, support special education programs, expand career and technical training, and provide mental health counselors.

We can do it all without raising property taxes.

Access to high quality healthcare, safe nursing in assisted living homes, and not having to worry about increased cost of living are the foundations to grow our communities.

I will sponsor legislation to eliminate social security taxes, raise the taconite homestead credit, and set payment limits on prescription drugs.

As a first responder, I see the courageous work law enforcement does every day.

I'll make sure our departments have enough funding to fight gun crime and never choose between providing the best training or equipment.

Elections have consequences.

What's at stake in this election is the freedom to make private healthcare decisions.

I believe women's reproductive decisions should be made by women themselves.

I want to keep the government out of your doctor's office.

My opponent wants to make those decisions for you.

When lawmakers choose politics over people, we suffer.

I'm not interested in extreme politics that leads to the gridlock we're experiencing today.

My whole career has been based on serving my community.

My opponent has been running for different titles and losing each election since 2010.

I've been effective in local government.

I know I will be effective at the state level.

We're losing a lot of institutional knowledge with the passing of David Tomassoni.

We can't take chances on risky, extreme candidates.

I have the experience to hit the ground running and make sure the Northland remains the best place to live, work, raise a family, and retire comfortably.

To get there, I'm proudly asking for your vote, thank you.