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Representative Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls) has announced his plans to seek re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives this fall. Currently serving his fourth term, Rep. Ecklund will run to represent the newly drawn District 3A spanning the Canadian border from Koochiching County east to Grand Portage.
“We’ve all been through some incredibly difficult challenges the past couple of years, but no matter the roadblocks that come our way, folks in northeastern Minnesota are resilient. Looking forward, I’m optimistic we’re turning the corner to a new chapter. But we have work yet to do so all Minnesotans can have the chance to succeed and prosper,” Rep. Ecklund said. “Serving in the Legislature is an incredible honor, and I’m grateful to the people of our region for the opportunity to be a part of vital work to support workers, students, educators, seniors, small business owners, veterans, and middle-class families. I look forward to once again working to earn the trust of voters this fall so we can continue our shared efforts toward a strong future for people in our region and across the state.”
In light of a record $9.25 billion budget surplus, Rep. Ecklund is working to get more money in Minnesotan’s pockets, including authoring legislation to eliminate income taxes on social security payments for seniors. This session, he is chief author of a bill to deliver economic recovery grants to borderland businesses to help them recover from the dual economic crises of the prolonged Canadian border closure and 2021’s wildfires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He’s also working to refill the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund – wiped out during business closures during the pandemic – to prevent businesses from facing a large tax increase on top of the economic struggles they’ve already experienced.
A strong supporter of public education, Rep. Ecklund has supported significant investments in Minnesota students, including historic per-pupil funding increases, expanded early childhood opportunities, and resources to address unfunded special education costs. He also successfully delivered millions worth of funding for school improvements in Ely.
Rep. Ecklund chairs the Labor, Industry, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee in the House. From this position, he’s worked to deliver key benefits like paid family leave and earned sick time, expand apprenticeship programs, increase funding for Minnesota OSHA investigators, improve safety for logging, meatpacking, refinery, and factory workers, and enact new workplace protections for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
In recent years, he’s been the leader among legislators to increase the state investment in broadband infrastructure to expand fast, reliable internet access to more homes, schools, and businesses. He was the chief author of legislation last year to deliver a historic $70 million investment in broadband.
Having served in the United States Marine Corps, Rep. Ecklund is committed to supporting Minnesota’s military veterans and ensuring they have access to job training and career opportunities, as well as housing, health care, and other support they need to prosper once their service concludes.
“Those who wear the uniform in service of our country make incredible sacrifices. They deserve our full support when they return home,” Rep. Ecklund said. “Working in a bipartisan fashion on solutions for our veterans is some of the most rewarding work I do at the Capitol, and I look forward to continuing to help ensure those who served can succeed and thrive in Minnesota.”
Rep. Ecklund has championed expanding the Veterans Court Model through the Veterans Restorative Justice Act, the Helmets to Hardhats program to connect veterans with careers in the building trades, financial support for three new Veterans Homes, and the new Veterans Safe Housing Initiative aimed at ending veteran homelessness. He was also instrumental in securing funding for the Ely Veterans Affairs clinic expansion.
An avid outdoorsman, Rep. Ecklund has led the fight in the Minnesota House against Chronic Wasting Disease, a fatal neurological condition threatening Minnesota’s wild white-tailed deer population. While in office, he’s successfully delivered millions of dollars for ATV and snowmobile trail development across northern Minnesota. Rep. Ecklund also serves on the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, the panel charged with recommending projects to fund from Legacy Amendment sales tax proceeds.
District 3A contains all of Koochiching and Cook counties, most of Lake County, and the northern part of St. Louis County. Following redistricting, the district adds cities including Bigfork, Marcell, and Hoyt Lakes.
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