Running for the Minnesota State House District 41B seat are Tina Folch (DFL) and Shane Hudella (R).

The district includes Hastings, Cottage Grove, Denmark Township and Nininger Township. Here’s a look at the candidates: Name: Tina Folch Age: 51 Educational Background: Tina Folch has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from St. Catherine University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Hamline University School of Business. In addition, she holds professional certifications in project management, emergency management, and as a public procurement officer.

Relevant Information: In her role as a Hastings City Councilmember since 2016, Tina has been additionally serving on the Dakota County Broadband Board, the Governor’s Taskforce on Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, the Hastings Arts Task Force and the School District 200 Community Engagement Committee. Tina has enjoyed volunteering with several non-profit groups, such as Hastings’ Football Connections and YMCA Boards, the Hastings Chamber of Commerce, & the Hastings Downtown Business Association. She is currently the League of MN Cities Improving Service Delivery Policy Committee Chair. Prior to moving into Hastings, Tina resided in southern Cottage Grove and served on its Planning Commission for three years.

Tina’s endorsements include: Mayor Myron Bailey, City of Cottage Grove; Mayor Mary Fasbender, City of Hastings; and 35 other organizations who care about communities such as Minnesota’s teachers, nurses, & firefighters, those groups that support reproductive rights and our environment, the DFL party, and the majority of our unions such as the AFL-CIO & St. Paul Building and Construction Trades.

Office Sought: MN House of Representatives, District 41B (Southern Cottage Grove, Hastings, Denmark and Nininger Townships) Why Tina Folch for State Senate District 41B?

I’m running for this office because I believe our leaders should bring people together rather than driving people apart. For many of us, we feel it’s time to put aside our differences and work to lift up all Minnesotans. We need someone as myself with experience as an elected official in bringing diverse people together from our communities to find common ground solutions. My professional expertise spans the last 30 years in State and local government finance, public infrastructure, law enforcement and economic development. As an expert in state and local government issues, I will hit the ground running.

Furthermore, my experience in governing has taught me that to be effective you need the ability to collaborate with all sides. Being able to compromise and find common values is key to bringing groups together to resolve challenges. With a record $9 billion surplus that went largely untapped, we have the opportunity to shift the state budget to fully fund public education and stop local school district referendums. We can also further pilot programs to support first responders, drive down costs for daycare, and create a family medical leave program for small businesses. I plan to bring my skills in collaboration building and being a local fighter for our small business and residents to the Capitol. For more information on my campaign, please visit tinafolch.com.

Name: Shane Hudella Age: 51 Educational Background: I attended the University of St. Thomas after graduating Hastings High School in 1989.

During my Sophomore year, I received deployment orders for Operation Desert Storm on December 4th, 1990, and had to report for duty 48 hours later.

Relevant Information:

24 year Army Veteran, retired First Sergeant with a proven record of leadership.

In 2008 I founded a nonprofit organization to help military families. I grew the organizations from nothing into a successful national program that has now helped over 100,000 military families with over $20,000,000 in charitable giving.

I am not a career politician. Office Sought: Minnesota House of Representatives, District 41B State Representative for Cottage Grove, Hastings, Denmark & Nininger Townships.

Why Shane Hudella for State Representative District 41B?

Crime and the Economy are both out of control.

With an estimated $12 BILLION dollar surplus by January, it is evident that we’re taking too much of your hard earned money.

I will be a part of the team that repeals the state tax on social security in the first few weeks of session, delivers across the board tax cuts for working Minnesotans in 2023, and fights the proposed Gas Tax increase that the DFL is pushing hard for.

There has also been a complete lack of accontability for crime in our state the last few years. Minnesota is now officially a ‘high crime’ state where murder is up a whopping 72% and daily violence is rampant in Minneapolis & St. Paul. I will work tirelessly to re-fund the police, immediately crack down on crime and hold judges and prosecutors accountable for not following our sentencing guidelines. We have to stop the revolving door that is putting dangerous criminals back on the street as soon as they go to jail -keeping our communities safe is a core function of government and right now our state government isn’t doing its job.