It has been the honor of my life to represent our communities in the Minnesota House of Representatives for the past eight years. I have LOVED the opportunity to get to make new friends and support our small businesses, police, firefighters, and schools. I have developed great relationships with our mayors and city councils and have loved the opportunity to advocate for local control, bonding projects, parks and trails, and your other priorities.
In this farewell article, I’ll recap the 2026 session and share some broader themes about public service.
The key accomplishments of this past session were not only what we passed, but also what we stopped.
We were able to pass some small tax cuts:
- One-time reduction in car tab fees
- Property tax relief for homeowners making less than $143,000
- Conforming with federal law on the Pass-Through Entity (PTE) tax, providing hundreds of millions in federal tax relief for many small businesses.
We stopped several Democratic proposals to increase taxes:
- A new 5th-tier income tax, raising the top rate to 10.85%
- A new first-in-the-nation “wealth tax” that would impose a 1% annual tax on personal wealth (like homes, cars, and real estate) over $10 million.
- A new 1% sales tax for Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC).
We did provide one-time money to provide needed help to HCMC, an important level 1 trauma center (preferable to the new tax). While this provides a lifeline, HCMC must improve operations and governance.
We also passed a $1.2 billion bonding bill that included:
- $4 million for safety improvements on Highway 12
- $2.7 million for new water infrastructure in Loretto; and
- An extension of the $450,000 for railroad improvements in Medina
We also passed important school safety measures, including a new Anonymous Threat Reporting System, school-linked mental health and mobile crisis teams.
Finally, as Chair of the House Fraud Prevention Committee, I exposed staggering fraud and passed new measures to strengthen program integrity and accountability. I testified twice in Congress and am working with our federal partners to identify fraudulent programs and providers. Our Committee report[1] found that the Walz Administration knew about the fraud, tried to suppress it, retaliated against whistleblowers, and failed to hold agencies accountable.
We also:
- Passed an independent Office of Inspector General
- Upgraded county computer systems to better identify anomalous billing;
- Extended the statute of limitations from 6 to 7 years for fraud crimes.
I also had the incredible opportunity to run for Governor, which gave me the privilege of going around our state for ten months, meeting thousands of Minnesotans, and hearing their frustrations and hopes.
Although we have some serious challenges – including fraud, crime, and economic policies that are driving people away – Minnesota is filled with amazing people committed to finding a way through these issues to make Minnesota a state where we can all be proud.
As I step out of elected office, I am still going to be a neighbor, friend, and fellow Minnesotan working for the good of our state. In America’s 250th anniversary year, I want to remind us that government is not the solution. Our founders designed a limited government, with powers given by God to the people, not kings.
State government has exploded since I was first elected – growing an astonishing 48% in just 8 years. It has become too big to manage, and the founders’ vision of has been turned on its head – an increasingly powerful state is limiting the rights of the people. We are trading our hard-won freedom for bureaucratic tyranny. But it doesn’t have to be this way…
We can get our state back by creating local solutions and not relying on the state. We can all do more volunteering in our churches, schools, food shelves, and groups like the Lions. We can help neighbors, seniors, and Veterans by building relationships, lending a hand, and serving on local boards.
It truly is up to “we the people” to build the future locally, while still engaging with state and national leaders. Let’s choose leaders who will partner with us, not increase burdens on us. I am grateful for the opportunity to have served our communities and am optimistic that Minnesotans will choose the right solutions to the challenges we face.
[1] https://www.house.mn.gov/comm/docs/gR_JcjoZB0u_WimLNADCRg.pdf
