2026 MN Senate District 17 Candidate
GOP
“Taxes are too high. Families, farms and businesses are being squeezed by higher property taxes, income taxes and new fees, while government grows faster than the private sector. We must prioritize core services, eliminate fraud, and return money to the people who earned it.”
— Glenn Gruenhagen —
Name: Glenn Gruenhagen
Website: https://www.glenngruenhagen.com/
Email address: glen@gruenhageninsurance.com
City of residence: Glencoe
Name and age; community of residence:
Glenn Gruenhagen, 74; lifelong resident of Glencoe, raised on a dairy farm just outside of town. Married to Emily since 1975.
Professional and volunteer background:
U.S. Marine Corps veteran (sergeant). Owner of Gruenhagen Insurance & Financial Services in Glencoe since 1978. Sixteen years on the Glencoe-Silver Lake School Board. Six terms in the Minnesota House; now serving District 17 in the Senate. Member of Rotary, American Legion and local church; previously active in jail ministry for 13 years.
Why did you decide to run for a seat in the Minnesota Senate:
I first ran for the Senate in 2022 after years in the House because Minnesota was heading in the wrong direction on spending, taxes, education and cultural issues. I am seeking re-election because after decades of Democrat control these problems have grown worse. Rural families, farmers and small businesses need a consistent conservative voice who will fight fraud, protect children and keep government limited.
What makes you the best candidate in this race:
I bring a lifetime of the same values I learned on the farm and in the Marines; hard work, personal responsibility and service. Also, decades as a small business owner, 16 years on the school board and 16 years in the Legislature gives me the experience to deliver results, not slogans, for District 17 families.
What would be your top 3 priorities if elected to the Legislature:
1) Cut waste and fraud in state programs and restrain spending so taxes can come down.
2) Restore parental rights and academic focus in education, stop ideological mandates on schools.
3) Support agriculture and small business, energy affordability and public safety so rural Minnesota can thrive.
If you were elected and could be guaranteed approval on one legislative bill in the upcoming session, what would that one bill address:
Pass SF5024, a bill I chief authored, which reforms health insurance and creates universal access to health care. This legislation will lower health insurance premiums and deductibles by approximately 30%. I was one vote short of passing this bill in the Senate last session. Our health insurance premiums and healthcare access can be solved by passing reforms that circumvent the mandates of ObamaCare.
What has been the biggest failure attributed to legislative action or inaction in recent years:
The failure to control spending and stop massive fraud while taxes and living costs keep rising, along with policies that undermine parental rights, energy reliability, unfunded regulations and mandates on schools and local communities has hurt working families and rural communities the most.
What are your thoughts on the current level of taxation in Minnesota:
Taxes are too high. Families, farms and businesses are being squeezed by higher property taxes, income taxes and new fees, while government grows faster than the private sector. We must prioritize core services, eliminate fraud, and return money to the people who earned it.
With so much attention focused on national issues, how will you engage the community to increase awareness of local issues:
I will keep doing what I have always done; email updates, weekly videos on social media, county fairs, visits across Carver, McLeod, Meeker, Sibley and Wright counties. I will listen first then report back plainly on how state legislation affects local farms, schools, businesses and family budgets.
