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Gander




*Deceber 14, 2025*






Interim News

Dear friends and neighbors,

I hope you’re staying warm as we all get cranked up for another season of frozen windshields, icy driveways, and the eventual moment when your car flatly refuses to start because it’s “too cold to function.” (Relatable.)

Last week, I shared an update on the rampant fraud unfolding across Minnesota—fraud that many warned about long before it blew up, but that state agencies failed to stop before it snowballed into exactly what we’re seeing now. Unfortunately, this week’s news isn’t any better.

 

Minnesota Budget Forecast: The Numbers Are In (And… Yikes)

The Minnesota Office of Management and Budget released its November forecast [ [link removed] ], and let’s just say it’s not exactly the holiday surprise anyone was hoping for. While the current budget cycle squeaks by without emergency cuts, the next one is shaping up to be a blizzard of bad news: Minnesota is now projected to face a nearly *$3 billion deficit in 2028–29*.

And here’s the kicker—it didn’t come from nowhere.

If Governor Walz and the previous Democrat-led legislature hadn’t *burned through an $18 billion surplus* and grown state government by almost *40%*, we wouldn’t be here. Minnesotans understand basic math: if you "don’t" spend every dime in sight and keep growth in the reasonable single digits, you "won’t" end up with a massive deficit. Common-sense budgeting isn’t rocket science. But apparently, it has become a rare commodity in St. Paul.

 

*What’s Behind the Deficit?*

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Despite *$10 billion in new taxes*, spending is still outpacing revenue.


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By 2028–29, Minnesota is projected to spend *$5.4 billion more* than it brings in.


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Much of the rising cost pressure—social services, education mandates, property tax increases—can be traced directly back to the Democrat-led trifecta.


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And the fraud? Let’s be very clear: these scandals aren’t minor accounting errors. They are a major contributor to the long-term instability now showing up in the forecast.

Recent reporting from the "New York Times [ [link removed] ]" and "Star Tribune" [ [link removed] ] revealed just how badly oversight broke down. Fraud didn’t just slip through the cracks—*it sprinted through them while the state held the door open.* Safeguards failed, investigations lagged, and Minnesotans were left with a government that couldn’t (or wouldn’t) protect their tax dollars.

 

What House GOP Leaders Are Saying

House Speaker Lisa Demuth and Caucus Leader Harry Niska summed it up bluntly:

“With this forecast, we're still seeing the negative effects of massive overspending and overregulation by one-party Democrat control. Without House Republicans fighting for spending cuts last session, the deficit would have been much worse. We did a great job cutting state spending this year, but the forecast shows there’s more work to be done. We’ve seen scandal after scandal of fraud in our social services programs on this administration’s watch. The bottom line is that we have both a spending problem and a fraud problem, and we will be addressing those going forward.”

And they're absolutely right: Minnesota has *both* a spending problem *and* a fraud problem—and House Republicans are working diligently to fix both.

 

Where We Go From Here

Last session’s spending cuts helped, but clearly, they didn’t go far enough. This latest forecast is a blinking, red, neon warning sign that Minnesota must rein in spending and stop pretending tax hikes are a long-term strategy (spoiler: they’re not).

Minnesotans are generous, responsible, fiscally aware people. You deserve a government that acts the same way—one that protects your dollars, prioritizes what truly matters, and never forgets who’s footing the bill.

As we head into the next session, I’ll continue fighting for spending cuts, transparency, and real reforms that stop fraud before it starts and to restore some much-needed fiscal sanity to our state.

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay tuned—there’s plenty of work ahead.

 

Sincerely,

 

Representative Steve Gander

Minnesota House of Representatives, District 1B











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2nd Floor Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar Street
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.5091







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