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Hauschild, Skraba highlight partnership in divided St. Paul
Amid partisan divides and outright acrimony in St. Paul, the Ely area’s two representatives at the capitol say they’ve formed an alliance - across party lines to the benefit of their constituents.
The Ely schools, local trails projects, Ely’s ambulance service and nursing home and local units of government were among the area entities that have reaped the benefits of efforts made by State Sen. Grant Hauschild (D-Hermantown) and State Rep. Roger Skraba (R-Ely).
“If you tallied the support we got directly to the community of Ely, it would outshine any community per capita in the state of Minnesota and I mean that,” Hauschild said Monday. “That’s because you have two representatives who work across the aisle and focus on the issues that matter.”
The two area lawmakers sat side-byside Monday at the Grand Ely Lodge, during a local joint powers board’s annual legislative meeting, and promised to continue their work.
Hauschild said that he and Skraba have been able to put aside their differences on many issues to work to the benefit of their district, often in contrast with lawmakers from other parts of the state.
“There are five or six senators in the DFL that have Republicans on the House side of their districts, and they don’t even have each other’s cell phone numbers,” said Hauschild. “They literally don’t talk to each other. How do they deliver for their communities if they’re not even talking?”
Skraba told an audience of local officials, community and business leaders and interested citizens that he’s “blessed” to return to St. Paul in 2025 after winning re-election last month by nearly 15 percentage points, in sharp contrast to his victory in 2022 when he unseated DFL incumbent Rob Ecklund by a mere 15 votes.
Like Hauschild, Skraba touted the alliance with his Senate counterpart.
“We have the opportunity to bring more up,” said Skraba, a former threetime Ely mayor. “The Senator is correct.
If it’s a bill both he and I can agree on, I now have an ally in the Senate, so if we can get it through the House I know we can get it through the Senate.”
Hauschild was the swing vote in a Senate chamber controlled by Democrats by one vote, while Skraba was part of a 70-64 House minority during his first term.
The Senate remains evenly divided while the House is currently tied with 67 seats on each side of the political aisle.
That may make cooperation even more vital and put the Ely area legislators in an enviable spot.
“We are in a unique position once again,” said Hauschild. “It’s all the more leverage for us, all the more leverage for Roger and I to work together to vote across the aisle and get more money for our region, because without our votes they won’t be able to do crap. That’s where you want to be representing this region.”
Hauschild said he “is trying to stay out a lot of the side issues” and to focus on “what matters most to our communities.”
He pointed to measures including those that provided $2 million to the Ely School District for its facilities project and another $5.25 million for improvements to athletic facilities, as well as initiatives that funded the Boundary Waters Care Center, the International Wolf Center, Vermilion Community College and local trails projects.
“That’s really where my focus has been,” said Hauschild.
He also pointed to the future including permitting reform for both existing and future regional mining operation, and further aid both for cities and area townships.
“We have all the power in the world because of the dynamics at the legislature,” said Hauschild.
Skraba said he “wouldn’t mind” if the Republicans moved into the majority after spending his first two years in the minority, but he added there could be benefits to the current tie.
“It makes us work that much harder to find common ground and we both have to work together to get things across,” said Skraba.
While mineral legislation served as a pseudo-bonding bill for the Iron Range, bringing funding for many projects to the region, Skraba said he is hopeful the legislature will pass a traditional bonding bill in 2025. He added it may take convincing some of his Republican counterparts.
“Is there going to be a bonding bill?” asked Skraba. “Last year there was no bonding bill. I’m working on my side, trying to convince them that bonding is very important for rural Minnesota, more so than the metro. I’m trying to get them to see the value of everybody helping them with their wastewater treatment plant rather than just the taxpayers in their district. If we can get through to some of these hard thinkers and say this is better, if we work together as a state.”
Skraba said he’d also work on wolf management legislation and voiced optimism that action may also be taken at the federal level on the issue.
He also said Republicans may slow implementation of paid family leave.
“It isn’t that I disagree with it, but I don’t think the state is ready for it right now,” said Skraba.
Local officials are again seeking much from St. Paul, ranging from increased local government aid to funding for schools and money for workforce housing projects.
Hauschild contends the current dynamics in St. Paul could play to the area’s benefit, particularly if he and Skraba continue to work in tandem.
A late-year staple on Ely’s calendar, the event known as “the legislative meeting” was hosted by the Community Economic Development Joint Powers Board, which includes Ely, Winton, Morse, Fall Lake and the Ely School District.
It usually offers a sneak peek at what to expect in the ensuing legislative session as well as the priorities and key projects for local governments and entities.
Others in attendance included: • Ida Rukavina, commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board;
• Pete Makowski, aide to U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D);
• Rachel Loeffler-Kemp, aide to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D);
• John Eloranta, aide to U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber;
• St. Louis County Commissioner Paul McDonald;
• St. Louis County Commissioner Mike Jugovich;
• Lake County Commissioner Joe Baltich;
• Paul Peltier, executive director of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools;
• Jeff Anderson, lobbyist for the Ely School District and RAMS.
