(light music) (bright music) - [Host] Welcome to "Meet the Candidates," the local election forum from Pioneer PBS.

This season, we asked 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 Senate District 21.

District 21 is made up of Lincoln, Pipestone, Rock, Murray, Nobles, Cottonwood, and Jackson Counties, and portions of Watonwan and Martin Counties.

Major cities include Worthington, Luverne, Saint James, Windom, and Pipestone.

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

And now, let's meet the candidates.

We'll start with DFL candidate Caitlyn Sanow-Minett.

- My name is Caitlyn Sanow-Minett, and I am the DFL candidate for Senate District 21 State Senate seat.

I grew up in Tracy, Minnesota, and I've lived in Southwest Minnesota my entire life, and it's been near and dear to my heart.

I'm running because rural Minnesota deserves a strong rural voice in the state capitol.

Communities here shouldn't have to fight to be remembered or to get funding and the assistance that they need.

We have tremendous communities, people, farms, businesses, and potential, and that needs to be heard throughout all of Minnesota.

My background is in childcare, hospitality management, where I served on the CVB board for two different cities, and in higher education.

On top of working in higher education right now, I am also our local union president of AFSCME 2385.

My family background is in farming, small businesses, healthcare, and military services.

And because of this and all my own experiences, I believe in community-driven politics.

I believe that you, as Senate District 21, should tell your legislators what needs to be done and not the other way around.

I believe in listening before deciding, using data over talking points, on either side, and that government should be transparent, because when we lose transparency, we lose accountability, and when we lose accountability, we lose people's trust.

This also means finding practical solutions, rather than stepping into political fights.

Southwest Minnesota has a future, and I wanna be involved in building that.

- [Host] Why do you want to be the senator for your district?

(bright music) - I grew up in a small rural community.

I saw firsthand how everything is connected, the school, the businesses, the people, the families, the farms, and the local government, and the state government.

Our rural infrastructure isn't just roads, it's broadband internet, transportation, water, energy, healthcare access, emergency schools, housing, and most importantly, emergency services.

One of the reasons I decided to run was because HCMC was facing closure, and it struck a chord with me.

My family had a tragic event happen when I was a child, and it's because of Tracy's own EMT services, their healthcare services, and most importantly, HCMC, that my brother is alive today.

These are not just talking points.

This is real life.

When we talk about rural healthcare, we talk about people's lives, and if we lose healthcare, we lose their lives.

So the bigger question is, what does Southwest Minnesota need to remain a place where people can build a life?

We need strong schools, we need strong healthcare, and we need strong housing market.

I wanna bring that perspective to the capitol.

Decisions shouldn't be made solely from a metro perspective or solely from a rural perspective.

It should be something that we work collaboratively together to better Minnesota.

My family has lived in this area, built lives and businesses.

I know what community investment looks like.

I've seen how people are willing to do to make ends meet, and I see how the state government has impacted us here.

I wanna be a strong advocate for Southwest Minnesota's future, and we shouldn't have to accept a decline as an inevitable.

We should be looking to build up our areas instead of watching them close.

- [Host] What are your priorities for the next legislative session?

- Number one is our rural infrastructure.

We need reliable roads and bridges, broadband access, support for our small towns, and we should make our state grant programs actually accessible to rural communities.

We need to reduce unnecessary state barriers to local development and infrastructure that helps attracts businesses, families, workers, and healthcare providers.

Another priority is healthcare.

Many of our communities are seeing hospitals close or closing programs that directly impact each and every single member of that city or the surrounding ones.

There's healthcare workforce shortages, mental healthcare shortages, emergency shortages, and all of these are things that we need to fix, and it needs to be a high priority.

The next is government accountability.

Knowing where your taxpayer dollars are going to.

Often, when I'm giving speeches, I ask the crowd, "Do you know where to find Minnesota state budget?"

Fun fact, it's actually online, and many people don't raise their hand.

That tells me that while that information is out there, it is not as accessible or transparent as it could be.

We should be evaluating whether programs are working or how we can fix them and mend them to make sure that they're fitting the needs of Minnesota today.

We should have stakeholder input.

Each and every single community member should get a say.

Town hall shouldn't be have to be paid for.

You shouldn't have to demand access to your legislators.

We should be willing to listen.

Most importantly, if we have a strong infrastructure, we have strong communities, and we have strong communities, we have economic opportunity, and we have economic opportunity, people will stay and build their lives here.

- [Host] What unique perspective do you bring to the Minnesota Senate?

- This is a question that I actually thought long and hard about.

You know, I lived in rural Minnesota my whole entire life, minus two years when I lived in the cities, but we don't talk about that.

I understand what small town life is just beyond campaigning or a talking point.

I've worked in many jobs that several people in the rural communities do themselves, or I have family members who do that, as well.

So, I bring that unique perspective of knowing exactly what the day-to-day life of a citizen looks like.

I know exactly what it's like when a family encounters a tragic event.

And through my union leadership, I've learned how to listen, advocate, negotiate, and compromise when necessary, and fight for those who need to be fought for.

My family background in agriculture, small business, and healthcare, and veterans also gives me access to different perspectives that I might not be able to bring forward myself through my own understanding, but I can advocate through them.

I understand also that these policies have real world consequences.

A transportation decision affects our businesses.

Healthcare decision affects family, and broadband decisions affect economic development.

A state funding decision can determine whether a small town has access to clean, healthy water or if they have to boil it two to three times a year.

I don't see rural Minnesota as just one issue.

Agriculture matters, but so do schools.

Infrastructure matters, but so does healthcare.

My unique perspective is connecting all these pieces together.

I really like doing puzzles, and this is a puzzle that I would love to tackle and I hope you want me to tackle, as well.

- [Host] What is your vision for the future of Minnesota?

(bright music) - Can I say the Vikings win the Super Bowl?

'Cause, you know, that's probably the best.

(laughs) Really, my big idea is just Minnesota should be a place where you can build a good life no matter what part of the state you call home.

Greater Minnesota makes up about 45% of the population, and I would love to see that portion of it grow and adapt, not just survive.

Young people should be able to stay closer to home if they want, start businesses, buy homes, raise family, and find good jobs.

Small towns need infrastructure to support that, and agriculture needs is the central to Minnesota.

We need to protect our family farms, support innovation, and make sure agriculture has a future here.

Metro and rural shouldn't be competing for basic investments, we should be working together to make sure that every portion of our state succeeds.

Government should listen, be transparent, use evidence, respect local knowledge and measure whether programs work or not.

My political vision is that disagreement's okay, division doesn't have to be the goal, and that we can tackle the bottom line of the problems together.

Minnesota should be a state where people can build a future, and Southwest Minnesota should be a part of that future.

- [Host] And now, a closing statement.

- First, I really wanna thank PBS for hosting this and having me here to have a platform to talk.

I grew up here.

I live here.

I work here.

I understand your needs, because they're my needs too.

Southwest Minnesota has hardworking people, they have families, and it's a community where we live and die by small businesses, family farms, and any enterprise that wants to come into our neck of the woods.

We shouldn't accept that decline is inevitable.

We need investment, infrastructure, healthcare, strong local communities, and accountable government in order to see it through.

I won't pretend to have every answer.

I'm not AI, but I will listen, ask questions, look at the data, and talk to the people who are affected before I make a decision.

And after I make that decision, I will let you know the reason it was made, because that's what community driven politics are.

It starts with you.

It starts with you showing up and speaking about the issues that you see, each and every single day.

Southwest Minnesota has a future, and I wanna be the voice building it.

- [Host] You can find more information about Caitlyn Sanow-Minett at sanowminett.com.

(bright music) Next, the Republican candidate, Chris Knoll.

- I'm honored to be here in front of you today.

Thank you PBS for inviting me and producing this content.

My name is Chris Knoll.

I live in St.

James, Minnesota.

I am married to Amanda Knoll, and we have a blended family of four kids, and a puppy named Canyon.

I'm a licensed nursing home administrator and CEO of a not-for-profit senior care organization.

I graduated from St.

Cloud State University with a degree in public administration, and a master's degree in public administration from Mankato State.

I'm seeking your vote to represent the great Minnesota Senate District 21.

I love Minnesota.

I have been fortunate enough to be born and raised in rural Minnesota, and have spent my entire working career in rural Minnesota.

What I've spent the last 15 years witnessing is not what I recall our state being when I was a child.

Our state is facing some critical challenges in the years ahead.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can tackle those challenges.

While touring the district at parades, civic events, and county fairs, I hear most of all people are frustrated that the government doesn't work for them.

Whether it is fraud, car tab fees, or employer and agricultural mandates, the tax-paying citizen expects a government that is efficient and effective and can be held accountable.

Frankly, not one that is in the national headlines for repeated fraud scandals.

Public safety must be a priority.

I believe judges and prosecutors must be accountable when soft sentencing allows repeat offenders back onto our streets to re-offend.

Minnesota deserves a justice system that protects law abiding citizens, supports victims, and makes consequences real for those who break the law.

Sadly, that has not taken place under one political party control over the last 16 years.

As your senator, my goal will be to implement policies and lower and make your life more affordable.

I will work for safe streets, strong schools for your kids and grandkids, properly fund programs that assist with the most vulnerable, seniors, children, and disabled, work to improve the unfriendly business, agriculture and environmental regulatory climate we all face daily.

I will lead with faith, integrity, bring political balance and try to get things done at the capitol.

Thank you.

- [Host] Why do you want to be the senator for your district?

(bright music) - As a lifelong rural Minnesotan and CEO of a not-for-profit senior care organization, I believe in servant leadership.

The belief was planted in me by a mentor who guided me in my early career in senior healthcare.

In this work, I see every single day what real service looks like, standing shoulder to shoulder with teammates, supporting families through hard times, and battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those interactions were never just a job.

They were a daily reminder that the greatest good we can do is put people first.

That passion for serving has never left me.

It is exactly what brings me here today, putting people of the district first.

District 21 is built on hardworking rural values, faith, family, neighbors helping neighbors, and the quiet strength of people who show up and get the job done without looking for credit.

Representing those values and the people who live them every day is the next calling on my life.

As I've traveled across the district, I've been prayed with and prayed over more times than I can count.

Those moments have given my family and I the strength, clear guidance, and a simple charge, listen first, then lead.

My education and my role as a DHS provider have prepared me to hit the ground running.

I already understand how government systems work, and more importantly, how they too often fail the very people they support to serve.

I know how to navigate them, how to cut through the red tape, and how to keep the focus where it belongs, on the citizens of this district.

My path through life has brought me to this moment for a reason.

I'm ready to respond, to listen, and to serve the people of District 21 with the same servant heart that has guided me for the years.

That is why I'm asking for the opportunity to be your next senator.

- [Host] What are your priorities for the next legislative session?

- The next legislative session is a budget year, and that will be the central priority.

Building a responsible budget is always difficult, and this year it will be even more so with the significant turnover in both the House and the Senate.

That change creates challenges, but it also creates an opportunity for new legislators from both parties to form a bond to hopefully pay dividends in the future working in a bipartisan manner.

Across District 21, the top concerns I hear are fraud and the overall cost of living, taxes, car tab fees, and new mandates that make life more expensive.

Those issues touch daily life for almost every family.

Stopping fraud must be a top priority.

There was a bill passed last legislative session with bipartisan support.

However, I believe the need to move the state government into a more technologically advanced model is a must.

Artificial intelligence and modern data tools can identify waste and abuse far faster than the systems we use today.

The tools exist, what has been missing is the will to use them aggressively.

At that same time, we must focus on making life more affordable, supporting strong schools, law enforcement, properly funding programs that protect seniors, children, and the disabled, and improving the regulatory climate for our business and agricultural producers.

Taxpayers deserve clear answers about where their money is going.

My priorities will be straightforward.

Protect the citizen from an overreaching government bureaucracy, root out fraud, keep our costs under control, modernize the bureaucracy, and make sure government works for the people of District 21.

- [Host] What unique perspective do you bring to the Minnesota Senate?

- I bring a unique perspective that no other current senator or Senate candidate has, years of hands-on experience as a licensed nursing home administrator and CEO for a not-for-profit DHS-enrolled provider, working with multiple businesses across rural Minnesota, across multiple business lines, such as skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, and home care.

The impact the state has had on this industry has caused its continued decay by underfunding and overregulating, which has caused the cost for these services to almost double over the last five years.

I have sat on the other side of the table.

I have filled out the very documents and billing forms that feed into our system now paying out the fraud we keep hearing about.

I know how the process works from the ground up, not from a briefing book, but from daily practice.

I was trained, licensed, and continue to be educated every year as a nursing home administrator.

That training includes a strong focus on preventing fraud, waste, and abuse.

Integrity is not a campaign slogan for me.

It is how I was raised and how I run my professional life.

I have never mismanaged government funds and I never will.

While traveling the district, I heard the same story, town after town, agencies that lack clear leadership, systems that are too complicated or too slow, and people who feel no one in the government actually understands how these programs operate in the real world.

I do understand them.

I have lived inside them.

Practical experience inside the system, as well as formal training in public administration, fraud, waste, and abuse, and extreme regulatory environment, combined with my personal commitment to ethical management is the unique perspective I will bring to the Senate.

I will not need on-the-job training to know where the problems are.

I already know, and I'm ready to help fix them.

Thank you.

- [Host] What is your vision for the future of Minnesota?

(bright music) - My vision for the future of Minnesota is clear, a state that no longer leads the national news with another fraud scandal every week, a Minnesota that returns to an accountable government, one that does its essential jobs well and stops trying to do everything else.

I see a state where common sense is restored, where taxpayers are no longer treated as an open wallet for unlimited spending, where government focuses on its core responsibilities, instead of expanding into every corner of life.

Bigger government and endless spending have not made Minnesota stronger.

They have made it more expensive, less trustworthy, and harder for hardworking families to get ahead.

My vision is a Minnesota that lives within its means.

That means protecting the people who are out there living their life daily, protecting their hard earned money, instead of continuously raising taxes on them.

It means working towards a government that is accountable and efficient by implementing modern tools to stop waste and fraud, rather than simply asking to raise revenues.

And it means measuring success by whether citizens are better off, not by how many new programs we create.

I also believe we can do better at working across the aisle.

The last five years have shown almost none of that.

If new and returning legislators are willing to put results ahead of party and find practical middle ground, real opportunity exists.

We can pass responsible budgets, clear laws, and policies that actually solve problems.

That is the Minnesota I want to help build, accountable, common sense, fiscally responsible, and focused on the people who live here.

That is my vision and that is the standard I will work toward every day in the Senate.

- [Host] And now, a closing statement.

(bright music) - Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

My name is Chris Knoll.

I live in St.

James with my wife, Amanda, our blended family of four kids, and our puppy named Canyon.

I'm a licensed nursing home administrator and CEO of a not-for-profit senior care organization.

I was born and raised in Minnesota, and I have spent my entire career here.

I'm running for Senate District 21 because I believe in servant leadership.

For years, I have worked alongside seniors, families, and care teams.

That experience taught me what real service looks like, and it showed me how far our state drifted from the Minnesota I remember.

People across the district are frustrated.

They see repeated fraud scandals, rising costs, and a government that too often feels unaccountable.

After 16 years of one-party control, many no longer believe the state government works for them.

I bring a perspective no other candidate has.

I have operated inside the systems that are being abused.

I know how the paperwork works.

I know where the weaknesses are and how fraud, waste, and abuse took root.

I will use the knowledge along with modern tools to help stop it.

My priorities are clear, protect the integrity of the state budget, make life more affordable for working families, support strong schools, properly fund programs to protect seniors, the disabled and children, improve the regulatory climate for our business and agricultural producers, and give taxpayers clear answers about where their money is going.

My vision is a Minnesota that lives within its means, restores common sense, and works across the aisle to get results, a state we can be proud of, not one that makes national headlines for the wrong reasons.

I will lead with faith and integrity, fight for District 21, and stay focused on the people that live here.

I respectfully ask for your vote this election season.

Thank you.

- [Host] You can find more information about Chris Knoll at knollformnsenate.com.

(bright 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.

(bright music)