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Editor’s Note: The Independent emailed questions for Minnesota House District 15A. Here are Nathan Schmig’s answers.
Personal:
I'm Nathan Schmig. I'm running for Minnesota House District 15A. I've been working as a garbage man for Olson Sanitation for about 15 years.
I was born in Milbank, South Dakota and grew up on farms in Stockholm, South Dakota and Canby, Minnesota. I graduated from Canby. I've lived in Minneota, Minnesota for about thirty years. I'm married and I have four kids. Before working as a garbage man, I've worked in a grocery store bakery, a hotel as a front desk clerk, night auditor and maintenance man and several different factory jobs.
I've never lobbied a legislator at the capital or been president of an organization larger than the Friends of the Minneota Public Library (for ONE year – Gary Buysse was always my president). I have helped fundraise, clean and move many heavy things to restore the Big Store in Minneota and turn it into the new Minneota Public Library. It was (and continues to be) a community effort. I have helped fundraise, clean and move many heavy things to reopen and support the Canby Theater. I still have a high vis shirt splattered with black paint from helping paint the ceiling in theater one. I am not a heights guy, but it needed to be done. I volunteered a few (hundred?) hours popping popcorn, working concessions and doing whatever odds and ends needed doing at the theater. It was (and continues to be) a community effort. I have known what it is to not have enough. My wife and I raised four kids. We couldn't be prouder of them or their friends or their cousins or the neighborhood kids who are still welcome in our house. But we have had to decide between groceries or the electric bill. We had WIC benefits. We had some SNAP benefits. We got by with help from friends and family. Many of our friends and family have had it much harder than us. People going through hard times aren't lazy. It's people like you. Like me. It's us.
Summarize why you are running for office:
On January 24th of this year, I watched a press conference held by Kristi Noem, the then Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She made statements about VA nurse Alex Pretti that were immediately refuted by cell phone videos uploaded by bystanders. I was furious. I had been disgusted by the repeated violations of rights enshrined in the US Constitution. Warrantless searches, illegal detainments, demands to show ID on public walks and in public streets. Renee Good was shot and killed just over two weeks prior. After both killings Federal government officials made extraordinary claims that did not appear to be supported by extraordinary – or just ordinary – evidence.
I felt the people of Minnesota had shown great courage and restraint when the surge of masked, unidentifiable, unaccountable, unwanted and uninvited Federal officers were sent here to punish us for... what? Not voting for the President? Understanding how tariffs work and not liking the inflation they cause? To fight fraud? Clearly not. If financial fraud was suspected then an army of IRS or FBI agents might have made sense. However, the IRS and FBI have rules and regulations that make it difficult for them to teargas protesters. Or children. So, to answer the question, why do I want to be the representative for my district? I can't stand by and do nothing in the face of injustice. WE need to be part of the solution. Midwesterners have a long tradition of standing up and doing their part when needed. I think we're needed now. I intend to do my part for my community.
What are your priorities?:
The Tuesday, September 1st issue of the Marshall Independent had a front page story with the headline, "Minnesota Medicaid spending is accelerating." The article spelled out how, "Even as the sprawling program is getting more expensive, provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Trump administration's targeting of Minnesota, ostensibly over widespread fraud, are worsening the funding picture. The result is a shift of these higher health care costs onto the state, healthcare providers and patients."
The Wednesday, September 2nd issue of the Marshall Independent had a front page story with the headline, "SNAP cuts could raise cost of free school meals for Minnesota." "More than 1 million American children have lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, following a recent federal law. Now, as schools gear up for a new term, a portion of those children could be at risk of losing their free meals – viewed as critical supports for both childhood hunger and classroom learning." I'm asking voters to give me the thankless job of trying to deal with the mess dropped into the laps of Minnesotans by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Republican legislators like our own Representative Michelle Fischbach at the federal level. This law cut taxes for extremely wealthy people and corporations and cut benefits for just about everyone else. I'm a supporter of universal health care. I support feeding kids in school. I support education – K through 12, tech schools, apprenticeships and higher ed. These aren't my only concerns, but they seem like top priorities to me.
What can be done to protect the state from fraud?:
This year’s legislative session saw laws passed that created the Office of the Inspector General, HF3629 which expands state powers to withhold payments over suspected fraud, and the Medical Assistance Protection Act that expands the size of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, strengthens state Medical Assistance Fraud Law, and expands its investigative power. These were bills passed through the legislature by both Republicans and DFL senators and representatives and signed into law by Governor Walz. Oversight has been strengthened – we need to keep our watchdogs funded. We must remain vigilant, but we also must make sure we aren’t accidentally cutting off support to those who need it. Fortunately, the legislation passed seems to improve the situation without causing undue harm. If someone doesn’t think enough was done on the issue, they will either have to take it up with our current representative, or wait and take it up with his replacement. Stealing funds is wrong. I can’t imagine anyone arguing in favor of fraud.
What can be done to support agriculture?
I want to see wired, gigabit broadband access delivered to all rural households. I want our local schools funded and our kids given excellent educations to launch them into a world full of options. I want health care to be accessible and affordable. My ideal would be a universal single payer healthcare system. I’ve known plenty of farm families who have at least one person working off of the farm solely for the health insurance benefits. Universal healthcare could free people from being trapped in their jobs just to maintain their insurance. Corporations, small business owners, employees and, yes, farmers could be free of the burden of enriching a middle man positioned between doctors and patients. Unfortunately, universal health care probably needs to be done at the federal level. Regardless, in questionnaires and forums I keep getting asked variations of this question. My answer is to start with the same things everyone needs -- housing, education, health care, fair wages and pay, community support -- and adapt to the geography and specific needs of the area. I have witnessed firsthand the loss of a generational family farm. I don’t wish it on anyone. I’m also trying to help get one started. It’s nearly impossible for new farmers to enter the industry. If we don’t want to see agriculture only run by giant corporations, we need to try to build protections for the small operations struggling to get by and create a structure for new people to get a fair start.
Do you support making changes to the state’s paid family and medical leave program?
Honestly, I’m not sure. While I understand the leave program has created some very real negative consequences for some employers, this program would have been a game changer for me and my family when my kids were born. I’ll quote Representative Pete Johnson, “There were a lot of people who had to make really hard choices, or lost jobs, or weren't able to spend time with their loved ones or heal properly prior to this law.” Any changes should be carefully thought out and planned. I know someone out there is going to say, “They should have carefully thought out and planned this program before they implemented it.” The negative consequences towards employers need to be balanced with the positive impact on employees who do the work and previously would have lost their jobs to take time to care for their family. Most of my working career I’ve worked for small employers. It seems wrong to say I shouldn’t have qualified for this program if it was available when I needed it.