I am part of a generation that wants to farm here, build businesses here, and raise families here. But more and more, Minnesota is making that harder, not because we lack innovation or work ethic, but because failed DFL state leadership continues to ignore the basic costs of doing business.

The warning signs are already clear. According to the Minnesota Chamber’s most recent Business Benchmarks report, from 2019 to 2024 Minnesota ranked 38th in GDP growth, 40th in labor force growth, and 41st in net domestic migration. For young people deciding where to plant roots, those numbers matter. They signal a state losing momentum, opportunity, and affordability.

Rising energy costs are one of the biggest drivers of that decline, especially in agriculture. For farmers in southwest Minnesota, energy isn’t abstract policy, it’s diesel in the tractor, natural gas tied to fertilizer prices, electricity for grain drying, and fuel costs embedded in every mile it takes to move crops to market.

When energy costs rise faster here than in neighboring states, margins shrink, investment stalls, and young producers think twice about expanding or staying.

Manufacturing feels it too. Food processors and ag-related manufacturers are energy-intensive by nature, and when Minnesota’s cost structure becomes uncompetitive, expansion plans move elsewhere. That means fewer jobs, fewer opportunities, and fewer reasons for young families to stay.

I’m confronted with these realities in my service on the board of the Lyon County Corn and Soybean Growers Association.

Yet instead of confronting these realities, Gov. Walz’s administration has doubled down on policies that raise costs while failing at the most basic responsibility of government: stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Under this governor’s watch, Minnesota has experienced an unprecedented fraud crisis, with upwards of a billion dollars lost through failed oversight, ignored warnings, and agency mismanagement. Money that could have gone toward easing cost pressures, strengthening rural infrastructure, or investing in workforce development has vanished, leaving Minnesotans footing the bill.

Gen Z notices this. We are told we must accept higher energy prices, higher taxes, and tighter regulations “for the greater good,” while the same administration cannot explain how such massive fraud went unchecked for years. Accountability matters, especially when families and businesses are being asked to sacrifice.

A responsible energy transition must be rooted in affordability and reliability, not ideology. Farmers still rely on diesel. Rural communities still depend on stable baseload power. And young Minnesotans deciding whether to stay will not gamble their futures on an unreliable grid and ever-rising utility bills.

Energy affordability, fiscal responsibility, and economic competitiveness are not partisan issues. They are the foundation of whether Minnesota remains a place where the next generation can succeed. If state leadership continues to ignore costs and excuse failure, young people will keep leaving.

If leaders are willing to confront reality with honesty, accountability, and common sense, Minnesota still has time to change course.

As someone who wants to build my future here, I hope we choose the latter.

— Braxton Seifert is a Marshall resident