Scott Hennen’s interview with Republican State Rep. Harry Niska of Ramsey
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House needs to work in bipartisan fashion now that DFLer David Gottfried defeated Republican Paul Wikstrom in a special election for a seat in the Roseville and Shoreview areas.
Minnesota House Majority Leader Harry Niska expects gridlock on controversial policy issues in committees which will have an even number of Democrats and Republicans because of a power sharing agreement made by party leaders.
Niska adds Republicans already knew they needed to act in a bipartisan fashion before the special election since the Senate has a one seat DFL majority and Tim Walz is governor. One of Niska’s top priorities is getting a budget done for the next two years. Last year Minnesota had a record surplus of $18.5 million. The Minnesota Office of Management and Budget now projects a $6 billion deficit for the 2028-2029 budget years.
“That’s the big problem we have to figure out some solution for. At least we’ll put a band-aid on that solution this year and hopefully the people of Minnesota go in a different direction in 2026 so we can really start to fix these problems,” Niska said.
Part of the power sharing agreement included creating a House Fraud Committee.
“The Walz Administration has a culture of corruption and noncompliance as fraudsters and criminals have taken state money. It’s time someone shines a light on that in state government,” Niska said.
Examples of alleged fraud in Minnesota includes the Feeding Our Future scandal where founder Aimee Bock and Salim Said are accused of stealing $250 million of state money from the child nutrition program. Bock says is unaware of any fruad. U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota sent a letter to Governor Tim Walz asking for answers about 62 investigations of federally funded childcare centers in Minnesota for fraud.
