(bright upbeat music) - [Narrator] 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 9.

District 9 is made up of Wilkin, Otter Tail, Traverse and Grant Counties, and the western portion of Douglas County.

Major cities include Fergus Falls, Breckenridge, Perham, and Pelican Rapids.

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

And now, let's meet the candidates.

We'll start with DFL candidate Krystyne Knutson.

Krystyne was unable to participate due to scheduling issues, but you can learn more about her at krystyneforsd9.com.

Next, the Republican candidate, Jordan Rasmusson.

- I'm Jordan Rasmusson, and I've had the honor of representing Senate District 9 in the Minnesota Senate for the last four years.

And I'm running for reelection to continue to stand up for our greater Minnesota values and fight for positive solutions down at the State Capitol.

In the Minnesota Senate, I serve in a number of leadership roles that help me advocate for the communities that I represent, including serving as an assistant leader to the Senate Republican Caucus and as the lead Republican on the Human Services Committee.

In addition, I serve on the Senate Commerce Committee, the Capital Investment Committee, and the Pension Commission.

Back home, my wife Emma and I live in Fergus Falls and we enjoy living in the community that we grew up in, close to family and close to beautiful lakes country.

And that's what inspires me to continue the work and to continue fighting for the people that I care about in the communities I care about.

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

- I'm the sixth generation of my family to live in Senate District 9.

And for me, I want to make sure that our area can be the place of opportunity that attracted my ancestors 150 years ago.

Unfortunately, Minnesota Democrats and Tim Walz have done a lot of damage to our state, and so I'm running for reelection to repair that damage that's been done and to work to get our state back on the right track.

Number one, that's addressing the fraud crisis that we've seen in our state.

And additionally, we need to make sure that we're prioritizing family budgets and making Minnesota a more affordable place to live.

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

- My top two priorities are addressing and ending the fraud crisis that we have here in the state of Minnesota, and also making sure that we're prioritizing family budgets ahead of the state government budget.

So first, on the fraud crisis, we have seen under the failed leadership of Tim Walz billions of your hard-earned tax dollars go to criminals instead of going to Minnesotans in need.

For me, as the lead Republican on the Human Services Committee, I have introduced and passed a number of program integrity measures that will help to prevent fraud in the future.

However, we need to make sure that we have a Republican majority in the Minnesota Senate where we have the power to confirm or deny confirmation to commissioners, and that will allow us to hold whoever becomes the next governor to account for protecting Minnesota's hard-earned tax dollars.

And then, secondly, on addressing family budgets here in Minnesota, we saw under single-party Democrat control that the state government budget grew by nearly 50% in one budget cycle, and that was paid for with your hard-earned tax dollars, including $10 billion in tax increases.

For me, we need to focus on reducing the cost of government and prioritizing family budgets.

We should reduce tab fee costs, we should reduce property taxes, and we should make sure that the tax dollars that do come in are respected and put to good use.

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

- For me, what we've seen with the failed leadership of Tim Walz is that real leadership is not about slogans or theatrics, it's about real results that have a positive impact on the lives of Minnesotans.

I'm honored to have been identified as one of the most effective legislators in St.

Paul, and because of that, we've been able to get a lot of really great things done for rural Minnesota, greater Minnesota, that's benefited the entire state.

I was the lead Republican negotiator on a $300 million aid package for Minnesota's nursing homes that helped save 40 nursing homes across the state from being closed, especially in rural communities.

I also worked on a collaborative bipartisan package to reform and help with funding for rural emergency medical services that's reducing response times and improving care in rural communities.

I've also been a leader on rural infrastructure investment, helping small communities make investments in core water infrastructure, roads, bridges, things that we need to grow and thrive in greater Minnesota.

So, for me, it's not just about making noise at the Capitol, it's about making a difference in the communities that I'm honored to represent, and I will continue to do that down at the Capitol and address the fraud crisis and address the affordability issues that we've seen come from the Democrats.

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

- For me, Minnesota is a beautiful place with great people, and the people that I have the honor of representing just have created amazing communities that I have the honor of living in.

For me, the state government has failed to serve the people of Minnesota well.

And so my vision for this next legislative session is to have state government work harder and better for the people they're supposed to serve.

That means focusing in on the core responsibilities of government, education, public safety, roads, and core infrastructure, and making sure that every tax dollar that comes in is respected and that it's put to good use so that there's a good return on investment for Minnesota taxpayers.

And if we're able to address that core function of government, that will make Minnesota a more competitive state so that we can attract people, retain businesses, and grow entrepreneurs here in our state, so that we can be a land of opportunity for generations to come.

- [Narrator] And now, a closing statement.

- My name is Jordan Rasmusson, and I've had the honor of representing Senate District 9 in the Minnesota Senate for the last four years.

I'm running for reelection to the Minnesota Senate to continue the work that we've done together.

And I'm really proud of what we've been able to accomplish to enhance our rural communities, whether it comes to nursing home access, emergency medical services, or rural infrastructure.

But we know that there is more work to do.

I will take my experience and my track record of getting results to continue to tackle the fraud crisis that's wasting billions of your hard-earned tax dollars.

In addition, I'm going to make sure that we're prioritizing family budgets ahead of just continued spending on the state government.

Those are the priorities that will help get Minnesota back on the right track and make sure that this is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

Again, I'm Jordan Rasmusson, and I'd be honored to have your support this November.

- [Narrator] You can find more information about Jordan Rasmusson at jordanrasmusson.com.

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.

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