Principled. Common Sense. Leader.
Your Choice for a Stronger, Thriving Minnesota.
Why I’m Running
Serving House District 1B for the past two years has been one of the greatest honors of my life. In a legislature split 67-67, I made a promise to myself and to you: I didn’t come to St. Paul to author messaging bills that make headlines but never become law. I came to solve problems and deliver real results for our communities.
This term, I fought to protect taxpayers by helping create an independent Office of Inspector General to root out fraud, and by securing property tax relief and car tab fee reductions for hardworking families. I made school safety personal — securing funding for threat reporting, behavioral health support, and crisis response in every school, public and private alike. And I delivered for Northwest Minnesota specifically: clean water infrastructure for Norman, Clay, and Polk Counties, flood mitigation projects across the Red River Valley, investment in the East Grand Forks Potato Inspection Facility, and — after years of advocacy — a long-overdue Level IV special education facility for our region.
There’s more work ahead. I’m still pushing for the Border-City Tax Bill, stronger physical security funding for our schools, and continued infrastructure investment in Red Lake Falls and East Grand Forks. After 39 years as your local optometrist, I know this district — its people, its challenges, and its potential. I’m asking for your vote to keep fighting for Northwest Minnesota.
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About Steve
Dr. Steve Gander, an Optometrist in East Grand Forks and Crookston for 39 years is seeking re-election to the MN House of Representatives after serving his first term representing House District 01B.
Gander served as Mayor of East Grand Forks for eight years. He previously served as Council Member at Large. Other past service includes Chair of the East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce, President of the Minnesota Optometric Association, and service on his local church council. Gander attended school in East Grand Forks, the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1987.
Gander lives in East Grand Forks. He is devoted to strong family values with over 34 years of marriage to his late wife Rosalynd. They have two grown sons, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren. In his free time, he enjoys running marathons, singing, hunting, fishing, kayaking, snowmobiling, scuba diving, woodworking, and riding motorcycle. Gander is a die-hard Vikings fan. He also enjoys other professional and amateur sports.
“In 1975, the group Northern Light recorded the song ‘Minnesota’. If you want to recall what you love about our state, go back and listen to that song. It starts out, ‘Minnesota—I can almost smell the air. I can feel her hand, and my feet in the sand, in the lakes under trees back home…’ Let’s make this the kind of place we can be proud of—with great opportunities for people of all ages.”
On the Issues
Fraud
Demanding the prosecution of fraudsters who have stolen billions of your hard-earned dollars, holding government agencies accountable, and recovering the stolen money.
Public Safety
We must equip our law enforcement officers with adequate staffing, training, and technology to perform their duties at the highest level. Additionally, our legal system should effectively convict, incarcerate, and rehabilitate criminals to ensure our communities are safe.
Education
Quality education is essential for the success of the next generation. We need to focus on reading, writing, technology, and mathematics while allowing parents to guide the moral and ethical development of their children.
Agriculture
Support family farmers and the agricultural industry—the foundation of our economy.
Taxes and Spending
Working individuals deserve to retain a larger portion of their earnings. Excessive taxation, akin to burdensome regulation, drives both businesses and citizens away to states with more favorable tax rates, a trend that must be stopped.
Jobs
Robust job growth results from various factors, including a societal embrace of the value of work. Excessive regulation and taxation, as noted, hinder job creation, while access to quality, affordable childcare facilitates higher employment rates.
Government Overreach
Excessive regulation stifles business growth and inhibits job creation, driving potential business ventures to other states and thereby impeding Minnesota’s economic progress. Moreover, it imposes constraints on individuals, ultimately diminishing their quality of life.
Health Care
Quality care is fundamental to a healthy lifestyle, necessitating comprehensive coverage across all regions of the state and ensuring affordability for all. Fair compensation for healthcare providers is essential to sustain quality care delivery.
Infrastructure
We must prioritize the maintenance and enhancement of transportation infrastructure, encompassing roads, bridges, airports, and rail, to ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and goods.
Sanctity of Life and Protection of the Unborn
I am a pro-life candidate who supports the protection of life from conception to natural death. After repealing pro-life protections in 2023, there are those who want to continue the assault on life by advocating assisted suicide legislation. I will firmly oppose their culture of death.
Second Amendment
Efforts to undermine the rights enshrined in the US Constitution must cease, and I am grateful for the courts’ defense of these provisions; legislatures should refrain from eroding them further.
Did you know?
Under Minnesota’s Political Contribution Refund program, your donation is fully refundable up to $75 for an individual and $150 for a married couple.
Latest News
Interim Update
July has brought us a wonderful celebration of Independence Day and the observance of our nation’s 250th anniversary. Across Minnesota, families, friends, and neighbors gathered for parades, community events, backyard barbecues, and fireworks to celebrate the freedoms we are blessed to enjoy. As we reflect on our country’s founding, we are reminded that the principles […]
Interim Update
Dear Friends and Neighbors,I hope you’ve all enjoyed another beautiful week here in Northern Minnesota.Recently, I looked out over rich Minnesota farmland and was greeted by a stunning double rainbow stretching across the sky. The only word I could find to describe it was miraculous. Every time I see a rainbow, it lifts my spirits […]
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