Republican candidate for Minnesota Governor, Kendall Qualls takes part in a townhall as part of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) conference in New Ulm, Wednesday.

NEW ULM – Republican gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls presented his vision for Minnesota during the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) candidate forum.

CGMC executive director Bradley Peterson opened the townhall, saying this was a big election year that included a Minnesota Governor race. The Republican party has an active primary race. The CGMC chose to hold the town halls during their conference. Qualls, the endorsed Republican candidate for governor took part in Wednesday’s townhall.

Qualls began by listing his three priorities if elected as Minnesota Gov. This included economic recovery, crime reduction and education improvements.

Under the economy, Qualls wanted to open up the Iron Range. He said there was a trillion dollars worth of materials in the Iron Range.

“We can do mining in an environmental friendly way,” he said. “No country can do it better.”

He also wanted to bring in a school of mining and engineering in Duluth. This would bring in new research, technology and startup countries.

Qualls also called for a return to nuclear power as a method of lowering energy costs. He said wind and solar energy was a fantasy, but advocated for nuclear energy.

“It is the cheapest form of energy, the cleanest form of energy,” he said. “I am going to petition to lift the moratorium on nuclear power and build a power plant in the state of Minnesota.”

Qualls said an increase to mining and a return to nuclear power were long-term goals, but in the short-term he wanted to make Minnesota a destination state for family tourism.

He said Minnesota’s temperate summer climate and wonderful natural resources had the potential to make it the top state for tourism. Qualls advocated for an advertising blitz promoting the state for tourism.

“That’s immediate revenue, that’s immediate opportunity and immediate cash flow that comes into your community,” he said.

Later in the townhall, Qualls was asked for more detail on how he was going to open the state for tourism while increasing mining in the Iron Range. Since the Duluth boundary water area was already a tourism destination, it was suggested mining could conflict with that goal.

Qualls argued that it was possible to mine in the Iron Range and maintain tourism. As proof he pointed to Canada, which also operated mines in the boundary waters without conflict. He said everyone regardless of political party, wants clean air and water. He rejected the idea that mining would lead to pollution.

Local Government Aid (LGA) was a hot topic at the CGMC conference. Qualls was asked to give his thoughts and commitment to LGA. Peterson explained that since the 1970s, LGA served as a program to help lower wealth communities, especially in Minnesota.

Peterson said currently the total LGA appropriation was $644 million and it had not been increased since 2023. He said many of the cities in Greater Minnesota depended on LGA to balance their budget, estimating 30-40% of small city budgets were covered by it.

Qualls was in favor of increasing LGA because it has not increasing along with inflation. He said when growth does not match inflation, something is wrong.

Qualls was firmly against unfunded mandates. He believed they were unjust and put the burden on smaller communities and school districts.

He was asked how he would improve education and address issues that impact families that provide obstacles to education.

Qualls wanted to go back to basics, calling a return to the phonics method of teaching reading, but also wanted to bring vocational education back to high schools.

“We should have never left the trades,” he said. “We need to bring them back in a big way.”

He also wanted to create waivers for professionals with 15 years of experience to become teachers without needing to attend teaching college.

At the close of the townhall, Peterson asked Qualls how he would dial back the polarization in the state and reconnect Minnesotans with each other.

Qualls called for everyone to look for commonalities and to lead by example.

“We must focus on what we have in common, not our difference,” he said. “We’re all Americans, we’re all Minnesotans. We need to find the things we agree upon.”

The CGMC candidate townhalls will continue 12:45 p.m. Thursday with Republican gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth at the Best Western Conference Center. A second townhall will be held at 1:45 p.m. with DFL Lt. Governor candidate Ben Schierer.