(dramatic music) (relaxed music) - [Narrator] Welcome to "Meet the Candidates," the local election forum from Pioneer PBS.

This season, we ask every candidate the same list of questions to learn more about what type of legislator they will be if elected.

In this episode, we will meet candidates from Minnesota House District 16A.

District lines have changed since the 2020 census.

District 16A is made up of Chippewa and Renville County and portions of Meeker and Kandiyohi counties.

Major cities include Litchfield, Montevideo, and Olivia.

To find out which district you live in, visit mnvotes.org.

And now, let's meet the candidates.

We'll start with the DFL candidate, David Torgelson.

- My name is David Torgelson, and I am the DFL Democratic endorsed candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives in District 16A.

I've lived in the district for 32 years.

First of all, in the Montevideo area starting in 1994, where I worked for a couple of years as an attorney for the Nelson Oyen Torvik Law Firm and served as both an assistant county attorney and an assistant Montevideo city attorney.

I then moved to Olivia, the capital city of Renville County, where I worked as an assistant Renville County attorney and then the elected Renville County attorney until retiring in 2024.

I'm involved in the community, in Olivia, and serve on numerous boards, including the Renville County Historical Society.

I'm a member of the Cross of Calvary Lutheran Church, and I'm in Kiwanis, which is a local community service group.

I wish to serve the interests of the residents of my rural district with special emphasis on issues of affordability, on things like healthcare and daycare.

Right now, there aren't many DFL representatives in the DFL caucus, and that's a gap that I would like to fill.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Why do you want to be the representative for your district?

- I am concerned about the direction of this country and of the state generally under some of President Trump's public policies.

Life seems to be becoming increasingly unaffordable on just about everything.

By the same token, I'm concerned about the fact that our state seems rather fractured socially between the urban areas and the rural areas.

Right now, there are very few rural legislators in the DFL Caucus in the State House of Representatives, and that's a gap that I'd like to fill.

I think it's important that rural issues have a center stage even within that caucus.

I'm interested in public policy generally, and as a lawyer, have been working as a lawyer for over 40 years dealing with state statutes and laws and regulations, and also having served a long time in the public sector, I'm very concerned about how what the state legislature does impacts our local units of government, be they school districts, counties, or city governments.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] What are your priorities for the next legislative session?

- One priority that's risen to the top lately is with cutbacks on the Affordable Care Act at the federal level, insurance, health insurance for self-employed people such as farmers, contractors, small businessmen generally, or those working in the gig economy have become increasingly unaffordable.

I note that Senator Klobuchar, who's running for governor, has proposed some new state level tax credits to help the effects of that, to help make health insurance affordable again.

Even if you get your insurance through an employer, making it possible for as many people to be in an insurance pool as possible is important to keep our rural hospitals and clinics viable.

I'm concerned generally about things to aid people in getting daycare, as mentioned earlier, health insurance, and even with our new parental leave law, just to make life affordable for people.

Having said that, the legislature did some good work in the last session to help prevent fraud and would like to increase efforts on that to protect whistleblowers who blow the whistle on fraud and other similar measures so that the taxpayers in Minnesota are not defrauded.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] What unique perspective do you bring to the Minnesota House?

- As a retired lawyer with over 40 years of practice in the law profession, I'm aware of how state statutes and regulations affect the everyday life of people.

Also, having served in the public sector for much of my legal career, I'm aware of how decisions made at the state legislative level affect local units of government, whether it be unfunded mandates, providing enough state local aids to help in districts where there aren't quite the property base that you might tax base that you might find in an urban district, and just feel that my past experience in public sector law would be an asset.

Also, just having lived in the district for over 30 years, I feel that I'm in touch with the needs of the people of the district.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] What is your vision for the future of Minnesota?

- I would like both the rural and the urban areas of the state to be strong, united, and safe for people.

I fear that in the last few years there's been kind of a fracture between the urban and rural areas and the needs of both are important.

We have a great state with great public services, but there's always a room for improvement on those services.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] And now, a closing statement.

- I'd like to thank Pioneer Public TV for making this forum available for candidates to talk about the issues and the future of our state.

As noted earlier, I'm concerned a lot about affordability issues out here in rural Minnesota, whether it be for healthcare, daycare assistance, assistance when somebody is suffering from an illness and maybe needs to take a short paid leave from their job to deal with that illness.

I'm concerned that local governments, whether they be townships, school districts, counties, cities, have the resources that they need through local aids from state government to continue serving the people of our district.

And I would welcome your vote come November.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] You can find more information about David Torgelson at Torgelson for MN 16A on Facebook.

(upbeat music) Next, the Republican candidate, Scott Van Binsbergen.

- Hello.

I want to thank PBS and Pioneer Broadcast Station for hosting this event today.

It's just a great opportunity for people to listen and hear what legislators and candidates have to say.

So I just extend a real thank you for hosting this event today.

I am Scott Van Binsbergen and I've been married to my wife, Clarissa, for 30 years.

We have three kids, one that just finished college, one that's in college, and one that is in his final year of high school.

Around our home, the focus has been on our family over the years.

After I graduated from college, I decided to return back home to Montevideo, the community that I was raised in.

I got married, started a family, started a business.

In fact, I started several different businesses over the last 30 years.

I've also been active in my community, been part of my local chamber, Kiwanis Club, United Way.

I've been involved in... I've been going to Hope Reform Church since I was a young boy.

I've been a deacon there and now I'm currently an elder.

I've served on different bank boards in the community and still am on a bank board for Citizens Alliance Bank.

I've had many different experiences in my life, and one has been around agriculture.

As I grew up on our farm, I understood agriculture and was very involved in agriculture.

I've been in my business career.

I've been involved in insurance and real estate, banking, accounting, housing, healthcare, and economic development, all areas that are critical to the future of rural Minnesota.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Why do you want to be the representative for your district?

- Well, there are many reasons.

First of all, I love rural Minnesota.

This is a special place to live.

It's a special place to raise a family.

I have had the opportunity to send my children to get a good education, a small school and watch them participate in all the activities.

I've also invested here in rural Minnesota, in rural communities across this state.

You see, I believe the future in Minnesota is bright, and I believe it's a special place.

I want to see rural Minnesota thrive.

I want to see entrepreneurs rise.

I want to see my kids and your kids make rural Minnesota their home someday.

However, I see some roadblocks ahead.

I see a state government that is often too big and out of touch.

Our government needs to know its place.

Our government forgets that the people are in charge.

Government needs to tax and spend less and regulate less.

I will continue to work to represent the values of greater Minnesota, values that believe in hard work, values that believe in strong families and strong communities.

Leadership is vital to the future of rural Minnesota.

Strong leadership is important in our homes, it's important in our churches, and it's important in our businesses, and it's also important in our state government.

The last two years, I've leaned on my business experience, and I've taken that with me to St.

Paul, and I hope to do that again next year.

I hope to bring common sense and balance to a place that has little of both.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] What are your priorities for the next legislative session?

- Priority number one is to stop the fraud.

We have seen fraud and it's been rampant for the last two years.

It's been rampant for a number of years, and we've seen a governor that and his administration and key people in his staff and Democrat leaders that have really turned a blind eye to all the fraud that has disappeared.

We know over $9 billion has been taken from the taxpayers of this state.

I'm working hard.

I am there.

I am focused in on making sure we find the fraudsters, we hold them accountable, and we get our money returned.

And we also want to make sure that this doesn't happen again, and we pass the Office of Inspector General, and I think that's a good first step on making sure that this fraud comes to an end in this state.

Second, I want to make Minnesota more affordable.

We live in one of the highest tax states in the nation.

We are 44th out of 50 states in tax competitiveness.

In comparison, South Dakota is second and North Dakota is 11th.

Something else that has been affecting us all is car tab fees.

Many Democrats have come out and want to raise car tab fees.

I want to see car tab fees lowered.

We are the fifth highest car tab fee state in the nation.

We passed some legislation this past year.

It's going to create a $250 million tax relief for car tab fees.

I'm excited about that, and I think everybody's going to see that when they go to renew their car tabs in 2027.

Third, I want to quickly talk about agriculture.

It's the backbone of our economy.

Minnesota is the seventh largest ag state in America.

We're fourth in crop production.

We need to have policies that make it easier, not harder, for people to farm and raise livestock.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] What unique perspective do you bring to the Minnesota House?

- Well, I think I bring the people's perspective, common sense to the Minnesota House.

I bring that perspective to the Minnesota House from my 30 years of business experience of dealing and being involved in business and creating jobs and living in the same rural community that I was raised in.

I know what it means to meet a payroll.

I know what it means to deal with the regulations that are passed on down from St.

Paul.

I know what it is to deal with soaring healthcare costs.

I share the same concerns as many residents in my district.

We have the same understanding that more government isn't the answer.

It's the problem.

See, we love freedom.

We are concerned about the American dream and the state we live is slipping away because of the radical policies of the far left in St.

Paul.

We have a government we simply can't afford.

Minnesota needs to plan, to budget, and spend just like families do.

Many organizations across Minnesota have the same perspective as I do, and they've come out and endorsed me.

They endorsed me two years ago and they have endorsed me this time again, and I am honored and proud to receive the endorsement from the Minnesota Chamber, from the National Federation of Independent Business, from Minnesota Farm Bureau, from Minnesota Citizens for Life, from the Minnesota Police Officers Association, and the NRA.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] What is your vision for the future of Minnesota?

- My vision is pretty simple.

I want Minnesota to be a place where families can afford to live, where people can work hard and that they can get ahead, where businesses can grow, and where communities are safe, and where schools are strong, and where government respects the people that pay the bills.

As a father and a husband, as a husband and a father of three kids, I want to leave Minnesota in a stronger and more prosperous position than the one I inherited.

And as a businessman, I know we have to live within our means.

And as a legislator, I believe government should focus on the core responsibilities of what we're supposed to do.

I want Minnesota to be built on opportunity, on personal responsibility, on freedom, and on common sense.

That's the Minnesota I'm working for.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] And now, a closing statement.

- I want to thank you again, Pioneer Public Television, for hosting today's event.

This is just an important opportunity for people to hear what's going on in St.

Paul.

Elections, they're not about politicians, they're about people.

I believe there is lots of unfinished business to do in St.

Paul.

It's been my honor to serve you in this district for the past two years in St.

Paul.

I believe government works best when it remembers who it works for.

Families have to make tough decisions around their kitchen table.

The government should be doing the same thing.

As your state representative, I will continue to work to stop the fraud, I'll work to lower your taxes, I'll work to spend your money wisely, and I'll work to make sure our communities and our schools are strong.

I'm optimistic about the future of Minnesota.

I'm particularly optimistic about the future of the residents in my district, in district 16A.

I'm optimistic about the counties of Chippewa, Renville, Meeker, and Kandiyohi.

I've traveled up and down this district for the past two years.

I've been in your communities.

I've sat at many of your kitchen tables.

I've been at your farms.

I've been to the hospitals, various hospitals in the district.

I've been to the schools.

I've met with students and teachers, administration.

I've been to many businesses, and I've met you at the door.

I'm optimistic because I know you.

You are some of the best and hardest working Minnesotans.

I would be honored to receive your vote and your support this November, on November 3rd.

May God bless you, may God bless Minnesota, and may God bless our great country of America.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] You can find more information about Scott Van Binsbergen at svformn.com.

(upbeat music) Learn more about voting, how to register, and what district you live in by visiting the Minnesota Secretary of State website at mnvotes.org.

Remember, election day is Tuesday, November 3rd.

Thank you for watching "Meet the Candidates" on Pioneer PBS.

(upbeat music)