MANKATO — DFL incumbent Rep. Luke Frederick and Republican candidate Dar Vosburg are vying for the House District 18B seat.
Whoever wins in the Nov. 5 election will serve two years representing the district that includes the cites of Mankato, Eagle Lake and Skyline.
Frederick, of Mankato, was first elected in 2020 and is finishing up his second term. Vosburg, of Mankato, ran unsuccessfully in 2022.
Vosburg works in real estate, helped start Southern Minnesota Thermography, which offers breast and body scanning services, and helps run Anytime Storage, a family business.
Frederick, who previously worked at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center, said his priorities in the upcoming 2025 session would be advocating for mental health, fighting for Eagle Lake’s drinking water infrastructure as the city continues to deal with manganese in its water and pushing for investments in Minnesota State University.
Vosburg said she wants to focus on the economy.
“Obviously we’re all hurting. I don’t think anyone’s not affected by the economy right now,” she said. ”There’s new taxes that are coming, and the budget increased quite a bit, and people want, you know, they’re tired of paying the high taxes in the state.”
This upcoming year is going to be a budgeting year at the Capitol.
“My policy areas are always going to be mental health focused,” Frederick said. “I served on a committee this last biennium. I’m going to advocate for that again, and the way we can invest in our agriculture sector, I’m going to be supportive of that as well.”
He said budget priorities also will depend on the outcome of the election.
“I don’t just mean at the state level, whether or not we have a trifecta again. I also mean at the presidential level. Minnesota is unique this year in that if the Harris and Walz ticket wins, that means Minnesota’s executive branch also changes.”
Vosburg said she wants to make sure communities are safe and that police have enough funding. She also wants to focus on making education and health care more affordable.
Both candidates said Eagle Lake’s drinking water infrastructure would be one of their bonding bill priorities.
Minnesota legislators failed to pass a bonding bill this year but passed one in the off-cycle the year prior.
“My opinion, the bonding projects should be for infrastructure things, and then if there is extra money, then we focus on some of the other projects,” Vosburg said.
Frederick also said there are needs at the university and mentioned Mankato’s previous request for Riverfront Park upgrades and the request to help start a local Bureau of Criminal Apprehension facility.
Minnesota lawmakers began the 2024 session with almost a $4 billion budget surplus.
Frederick said anytime there’s a surplus, it’s always good to look at what the needs are in the state, adding that a good example is addressing wastewater treatment needs.
“If we can make those investments and over the long-term save taxpayer dollars because we’re making those investments in the state, I think that’s a smarter long-term move,” he said.
Vosburg said she thought the last surplus should have been spent differently. “I know a lot of people were counting on that money coming back to them,” she said, adding she’s worried about businesses leaving because of high taxes.
During the last biennium, lawmakers codified the right for an abortion into state statute.
Vosburg said she’s pro-life but understands the state’s views on the issue.
“I don’t think a 12-year-old should be able to have an abortion without their parents knowing about it. I would like to focus on adoption. Why is it so expensive to adopt?” she said.
Frederick said he’s proud of the work the state has done so far on the matter.
“I expect there to be another push this year to put on a future ballot and let the people of Minnesota vote on whether or not there should be abortion protections put into our state constitution,” he said.
Regarding education mandates passed in the past two years, Frederick said he’s heard positive feedback on new reading curriculum changes but said lawmakers have tried to address funding concerns for implementation.
“And so what we did in 2024 then is respond to that, because Mankato wasn’t the only school district saying that,” he said.
Vosburg said while she isn’t familiar with the READ Act, she is concerned with kids not reading at their grade level.
She also said mandates could cost schools money.
“Giving kids free lunches, I’m just worried that that money might not be there in the future,” she said.