Why are you interested in serving in the Legislature? It has been a great honor and privilege to represent Stearns, Kandiyohi, and Pope counties in the Minnesota State Senate. Serving has been a responsibility that I have never taken lightly because the issues at the state level have a huge impact on the people I represent. As a small business owner, in the housing industry, I understand the challenges businesses and families face in this tough economy. I also strongly believe my views, vision, and values match those of my constituents very well.

Describe an out-of-the-box solution to help the budget. Consolidation of departments and functions within the Deptartment of Natural Resourses, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Board of Soil and Water Resources (BSWR), Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), and Deptartment of Health Waters Division. All five of these agencies provide similar water-related functions in many areas and we pay for that duplication.

If you were king (or queen), how would you balance the state budget? If I were king I would call in all of my department heads and order them to find and eliminate any and all functions that are either unfunded mandates on our local units of government or are not the core mission and function of their departments. In tough economic times, we must focus on the needs of our citizens and reduce the wants to an appropriate level that fits our budget.

With the Vikings lease expiring after 2011, what state role do you support in building a new Vikings stadium? I believe the Vikings owners, local government units (city and county), and the metropolitan business community will provide a workable stadium plan this next session. The Twins did it two years ago, and the Vikings can use the same methods to obtain their stadium without adding additional taxes to every Minnesota taxpayer.