sd19dfl.com - Home Grown

The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party's emphasis is on local and homegrown solutions to issues facing the state, that support Minnesota's farmers, workers, and communities, as well as promoting candidates with deep roots in the state and a strong connection to its residents. The DFL underscores the party's commitment to addressing the unique needs and concerns of Minnesotans through grassroots organizing, community engagement, and locally driven initiatives.

We'll feature local Contributors on this page.

Melinda

Estey

Owatonna, MN

Hello Friends! I must share that this column can be very difficult to write each month; especially as we draw nearer to the election and people and ads become nastier. My faith in humanity is frequently challenged but I’m grateful to find my hope restored when I examine the integrity and dedication in our Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) candidates.

I want to remind everyone that the adage “all politicians are crooks” is unequivocally false and to suggest it at all eliminates our responsibility as voters in a democratic society to pay attention and to use our voices and votes to hold them accountable. I personally know many of the Democrat candidates on our current ballot and I know them to be honest, hard-working, dependable and conscientious people of integrity who are giving tirelessly of their personal time and lives to fight for a chance to represent you to build a state and country that works FOR YOU. We are the 99 percent, and we must band together to stand up for democracy and hold our representatives and leaders to the values and guidelines of the constitution.

Let me remind you of the poignant quote from the evil Hopper in the 1998 movie A Bug’s Life: “You let one ant stand up to us, and they all might stand up! Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one. And if they ever figure that out … there goes our way of life!” P.S. WE are the ants. All of us! Stand together with us against the one percent this November and vote Democrat throughout your ballot to elect individuals willing to fight for policies that make your life better. Remember that we’re the party working to give Minnesotans access to healthcare, quality education, food for our children, affordability, a strong economy, a reasonable path to citizenship and more.

We do not all start from the same place and Democrats are working hard to build a society that allows us all to survive and thrive regardless of the hand or circumstances we were dealt at birth. This is not socialism; this is using the tax dollars we all pay for effective root-cause solutions that make it easier for everyone to be successful – not just the one percent. We are not advocating for more taxes; we’re advocating to use our existing tax dollars more effectively.

What have democrats accomplished? Hold my beer please.

When Biden left office in 2025 (peacefully I might add), the economy of the United States was “the envy of the world”, we had strong diplomacy and relationships with nations across the world, we had faith in science and medical practices that saved millions of lives and eradicated diseases that are once again taking lives through misinformation from the top offices of our government, and we were not engaging in pointless forever wars or trade wars that make everything more expensive for all of us just trying to earn enough to survive.

In Minnesota specifically, Democrats successfully raised the minimum wage, codified abortion rights, implemented protections for transgender people, restored voting rights for previously incarcerated people, invested in affordable housing, implemented stronger protections for workers and paid family leave, implemented free school meals, increased Minnesota’s Rainy Day Fund and lowered prescription drug costs! (Do I even need to say that no one should die because they can’t afford insulin? Thank you AG Ellison!)

Early in person voting in Minnesota begins on October 16th and we strongly encourage you to make your plan to vote and follow through to cast your vote on November 3rd – or even better: now! Find information about your ballot, register or check your registration status, find your polling place and more at: mnvotes.gov.

We also ask that you vote YES to increase funding to school districts. Remember that this measure will NOT increase taxes or change how decisions are made for school districts, it will simply allow the state to utilize a larger percentage of the fund each year – primarily (or entirely depending on market conditions) from the interest earned. Win/Win. This ballot measure derived from a non-partisan legislative task force which found that this measure could raise per pupil funding by around 40 percent depending on market performance and passed unanimously in the Minnesota House meaning ALL representatives voted yes regardless of party affiliation. Please vote yes for our kids.

Finally, it bears repeating one more time: VOTE BLUE and vote early.

Connect with us via email at SteeleDFL@gmail.com

Respectfully submitted by Melinda Estey.

Steele County DFL Chair

Carolyn

Treadway

Faribault, MN

Read other Articles Carolyn has written.

Philip

Heim

Medford MN

What to expect in 2026?

As 2026 approaches we can look forward to celebrating our Nation’s 250th anniversary as a Republic by watching Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) matches on the White House lawns which will be next to the construction of a 30,000 square foot ballroom where the East Wing of the White House once stood but was demolished by our current President. This big, beautiful ballroom, with a gold gilded interior, will cost over $300 million to build but our President said he is going to pay for it all by himself with money donated to him by private donors.

Look how far we have come since our Nation’s 200th Birthday in 1976, here are some comparisons. In 1976 our National Debt was just under $1 trillion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was 959. The number of billionaires in the United States was estimated at 15-17 while the only publicly acknowledged billionaire was David K. Ludwig, a self-made shipping magnate. The Corporate tax rate had been lowered from 48% to 46% and the highest individual income tax rate had been reduced from 70% to 50%. The Median Household Income was $22,390, meaning half of household incomes were higher while half of household incomes were less. The Average Household Income was close to $23,000 because higher income earners brought the average amount up a little higher than the median amount.

Fast forward to present day our National Debt is over $38 trillion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is 47,954 as of this writing. The number of billionaires in this country has increased since the start of this year from 902 to 924. The Corporate tax rate has been reduced to 21% and the top individual tax rate has been reduced to 37%. The Median Household Income has risen to $83,000 while the Average Household Income is $120,950, which means high income earners bring the Average Household Income to a value close to $40,000 higher than the Median Household Income.

Republican Leadership likes to repeat the phase, “We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem”, I disagree. This Nation has a concentration of wealth in the hands of a small percentage of our population that is undermining the economic and social order of our Nation. The 5 richest men in our Nation have personal wealth ranging from almost $600 billion down to $240 billion dollars. They have accumulated that wealth mainly in technology, think Space X, Meta, Oracle, Google and retail, think Amazon. The 5 richest women in our Nation have accumulated wealth ranging from over $122 billion down to over $34 billion dollars. The women have all inherited wealth from their husbands or inherited wealth as part of a family fortune. Think about this, if you spent 100,000 dollars every year without saving a penny, it would take you 10,000 years to spend 1 billion dollars. How many billions of dollars do the 924 billionaires in this country need to live comfortably do you think? They could probably live well with ten billion dollars a year don’t you think? Currently we are paying 100 billion dollars of interest every month on the National Debt which we owe to banks, wealthy individuals and investment institutions. This wealth disparity is causing individual states, counties and cities across our country to raise property taxes and cut services.

Our current National Debt is currently 25% larger than the total yearly economic output of this nation, our Gross Domestic Product (GPD),as a Nation we cannot sustain this disparity if we are to remain economically and socially viable. Raising the Corporate tax rate and especially the tax rate on individual wealth would go a long way to help reduce our national debt as well as eliminating government fraud, excessive mandates and regulations.

Use your voice to influence the policy decisions of our elected officials and use your vote to elect leaders that will listen to and respond to the issues of concern of the majority of voters in this Nation. Here are some contact numbers for our elected leaders: President Donald Trump- 202-456-1414 ask to leave a comment; Rep. Brad Finstad-202-225-2472 press 6 to leave a comment; State Senator John Jasinski (SD19)- 651-296-9457; State Rep. Keith Allen (HD19A)-651-296-8237; State Rep. Tom Sexton (HD19B)-651-296-5368. Best Wishes for the Christmas Season and hope for better in 2026.

Philip Heim

Steele Co. DFL Chair

Read other Articles Phil has written.

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