Reed Olson is a cook, small business owner & community nonprofit director in Bemidji.
He is also a two-term Beltrami Co. Commissioner with a reputation as a problem solver & bridge builder who gets things done. Let's elect someone who will fight to uphold our Northwoods Values in St. Paul!
I know my community.
I see the challenges my neighbors face every day.
I understand what we must do to improve the lives of rural Minnesotans right now.
I come from a proud farming family in Litchfield, MN, where my earliest jobs included corn detasseling, rock picking, and cleaning pig stalls. After heading north to work at the Concordia Language Villages, I was enthralled with the Bemidji-area landscape and decided to set down roots. I fell in love with my Northwoods neighbors quickly as well and decided to enter local politics in 2013 as a Bemidji City Council member. I recently finished my second term as a Beltrami County Commissioner.
For over fifteen years, I have been a small business owner in rural Minnesota. I understand the pressures that small business owners face, and I am familiar with the hard work necessary to make the dream of small business ownership a reality.
As a founding member and current director of a non-profit which operates two emergency shelters in Bemidji, I understand the policies that prevent people from accessing quality housing. I witness the struggles that unhoused people face and I am ready to work tirelessly to secure affordable housing for all Minnesotans.
I have been a worker my whole life and I look forward to continuing to support the workers in our communities. As your representative, I will work to:
■ Build more housing in rural Minnesota,
■ Expand rural access to quality childcare,
■ Create more high-quality jobs for rural Minnesotans,
■ Defend women's reproductive rights,
■ Address our mental health crisis,
■& Lower the cost of postsecondary education for all Minnesotans at Minnesota institutions.
For the past 16 years (and counting!) I have owned a MN small business—a restaurant + coffee shop called The Wild Hare. I understand the pressures that small business owners face, and I am familiar with the hard work necessary to make the dream of small business ownership a reality.
In 2016, I helped found a 26-bed homeless shelter which I now oversee as Executive Director of the Nameless Coalition for the Homeless. Daily, I witness the struggles that unhoused people face and deepen my understanding of the policies which keep people homeless. I look forward to working to secure affordable housing for all of us.
As County Commissioner, I have worked to increase the dollars that go toward replanting our valuable natural resources—like the aspen we harvest. I will continue to support strengthening the wood products industry and tourist economy, while ensuring their sustainability.