Positions of Minnesota Candidates for State Offices On Wolf Hunt and Wildlife Issues
Howling For Wolves sent questionnaires to Minnesota candidates for State offices (incumbents and challengers). The questionnaire position summaries from the candidates who responded are presented in the table below. The original questions are presented after the table.
Lookup who is on your ballot here.
District | Name | Position | Party | Body | City | Q1 - Have Wolf Hunt in MN | Q2 - Eliminate Snaring | Q3 - Require Written Permission to Trap | Q4 - Support Non-Lethal Methods | Q5 – Prohibit Selling Wolf Fur |
01A | George Bass | Challenger - Dan Fabian | DFL | House | Thief River Falls | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Undecided |
05B | Dennis Barnsness | Challenger - Tom Anzelc | GREEN | House | Grand Rapids | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
07 | Erik Simonson | Open seat - replacing Roger Reinert | DFL | Senate | Duluth | Oppose | Undecided | Yes | Yes | Yes |
07A | Jennifer Schultz | Incumbent | DFL | House | Duluth | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
08 | Bill Ingebrigtsen | Incumbent | GOP | Senate | Alexandria | Support | Undecided | No | Yes | No |
13 | Micheal Willemsen | Challenger - Michelle Fischbach | DFL | Senate | Sauk Rapids | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
13B | Matthew Crouse | Challenger - Tim O-Driscoll | DFL | House | Sauk Rapids | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
15 | Chilah Brown | Open seat - replacing David Brown | DFL | Senate | Isle | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
18B | Darrel Mosel | Challenger - Glenn Gruenhagen | DFL | House | Gaylord | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
22B | Kirby Kruse | Challenger - Rod Hamilton | DFL | House | Windom | Support | Non-answer | Yes | Non-answer | No |
29B | Steve Kilburn | Challenger - Marion O'Neill | DFL | House | Buffalo | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
31B | Susan Larson | Open seat - replacing Tom Hackbarth | DFL | House | Ham Lake | Support | Yes | Yes | Non-answer | Yes |
35 | Roger Johnson | Challenger - Jim Abler | DFL | Senate | Coon Rapids | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
37 | Jerry Newton | Open seat - replacing Alice Johnson | DFL | Senate | Coon Rapids | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
38A | Kevin Fogarty | Challenger - Linda Runbeck | DFL | House | Centerville | Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
39B | Alan Kantrud | Challenger - Kathy Lohmer | DFL | House | Stillwater | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
40 | Chris Eaton | Incumbent | DFL | Senate | Brooklyn Center | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
43 | Chuck Wiger | Incumbent | DFL | Senate | Maplewood | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
43 | Chris Belflower | Challenger - Chuck Wiger | IND | Senate | Mahtomedi | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
43A | Bob Cardinal | Challenger - Peter Fischer | GOP | House | Maplewood | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
44B | Jon Applebaum | Incumbent | DFL | House | Minnetonka | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
45 | Roxana Bruins | Challenger - Ann Rest | GOP | Senate | Crystal | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
48 | Steve Cwodzinski | Challenger - David Hann | DFL | Senate | Eden Prairie | Undecided | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
48A | Laurie Pryor | Open seat - replacing Yvonne Selcer (D) | DFL | House | Minnetonka / Eden Prairie | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
50A | Linda Slocum | Incumbent | DFL | House | Bloomington / Richfield | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
53A | JoAnn Ward | Incumbent | DFL | House | Woodbury / Oakdale | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
54B | Don Slaten | Open seat - replacing Denny McNamara | DFL | House | Hastings | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Undecided |
55B | Cecilia Haakenson | Challenger - Tony Albright | DFL | House | Prior Lake | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
61B | Tom Gallagher | Challenger - Paul Thissen | GOP | House | Minneapolis | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
63A | Jim Davnie | Incumbent | DFL | House | Minneapolis | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Undecided |
65B | Margaret Stokely | Challenger - Carlos Mariani | GOP | House | St. Paul | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
66A | Alice Hausman | Incumbent | DFL | House | St. Paul | Oppose | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2016 Legislative Candidate Survey Questions:
Q1: Do you support keeping the automatic wolf trophy hunt in Minnesota? Despite protections under the Endangered Species Act, a recreational wolf hunting and trapping season remains in state law and would automatically go into effect the moment federal protections are lifted.
Q2: Do you support trapping reforms to eliminate snaring - a type of trapping that uses cheap wire nooses to catch animals? Snares kill non-targeted animals, including dogs, pheasants, wolves, moose, lynx, and songbirds. They’re meant to choke the animal to death, but often grab other body parts creating amputations, disembowelment, and fatal disabilities. Twenty (20) states have effectively eliminated the recreational use of snares because it is a non-targeted and cruel method of killing wild animals.
Q3: Do you support requiring written permission to trap on private property? Howling For Wolves seeks to have Minnesota join 22 other states that support private property owners and stronger requirements to obtain clear, written permission from a landowner to set traps on someone’s private property. Current Minnesota law allows trappers to set traps on private property without the landowner’s permission, unless it is agricultural land or adequately posted that trespass is prohibited. Wisconsin has required landowner permission to hunt/trap since 1995.
Q4: Do you support helping farmers, wolves, and communities coexist by supporting smart and nonlethal strategies that prevent conflicts? Reducing predation on livestock and supporting farmers/ranchers is a shared goal of Howling For Wolves with the agriculture community. Nonlethal methods — such as the use of guard animals, fences, lights, & carcass removal — reduce wolf-livestock conflicts.
Q5: Do you support prohibiting captive wolf exhibits, “petting zoos,” and other wildlife sanctuaries from selling wolf furs for profit?
See also:
Select MN and WI Federal Candidates' Stance on Wolf Issues
Minnesota's Wolf Champions
Game and Fish Bill Amendments Voting Records - May 16, 2016