UNDATED -- We know a new person will be representing Minnesota House District 13A after the November election. Republican Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring and Democrat Jim Read of Avon were on the News @ Noon Show Tuesday for a candidate forum.

They are vying for the seat being vacated by Republican Jeff Howe, who is running for the State Senate instead.

Demuth says she has three top issues she'd like to address in St. Paul.

First of all, equalizing the pre-k through 12 education funding, just because of my work on the school board, second, of course, is the health care cost and accessibility, and third is our workforce sustainability.

Demuth has been a longtime ROCORI school board member. Meanwhile, Read agrees that health care costs have to be addressed.

I have more conversations about health care than anything else.  The conversations will go something like this, "I pay $40,000 in premiums and deductibles and I can't afford to go to the doctor".

Read is a political science professor at St. John's University.

Both candidates stressed they want to bring civility back to Minnesota politics and have polite conversations with people who have opposing views.

House District 13A includes the communities of Paynesville, Richmond, Cold Spring, Rockville, Kimball, St. Joseph, and Avon as well as the surrounding townships.

Two years ago Jeff Howe won the seat by a 66-34 percent margin over the democrat Anne Buckvold.

 

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