Thaddeus Laugisch, Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate for Minnesota House District 4B.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (KFGO) – Thaddeus Laugisch, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate for Minnesota House District 4B, is making rural emergency response and healthcare access a central focus of his bid to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Jim Joy.
Speaking on KFGO’s “News and Views” with Joel Heitkamp, Laugisch said rural communities across Clay and Becker counties face shrinking access to vital public services despite rising property taxes. He warned that regional clinic closures and volunteer emergency medical shortages leave small towns increasingly vulnerable.
“Our taxes keep going up, but the services that we have for our more rural communities keep going down,” Laugisch said. “We have rural EMS services that are lacking in a good response time, as well as our firefighter response time. And that, unfortunately, creates a higher interest rate on our home insurance as well as our health insurance.”
Laugisch criticized Joy’s voting record in St. Paul, pointing to the Hawley lawmaker’s votes against a 2024 rural emergency medical services funding package and capital funding for local facilities, including the Dilworth fire hall. Joy argued during the session that the emergency medical legislation unnecessarily expanded state government.
The challenger also pushed back against a wave of campaign mailers sent across the district. Laugisch noted that some attack flyers claim he voted for specific state legislation in 2022 and 2023, years before he ever held elected office.
House District 4B covers Barnesville, Detroit Lakes, and areas of Moorhead north of 15th Avenue North.
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