Incumbent Sandra Feist and KT Jacobs are both seeking election to Minnesota House District 39B in November. The district encompasses Columbia Heights, Hilltop and St. Anthony.
Sandra Feist
Sandra Feist, incumbent
Party affiliation: Democrat
Sandra Feist grew up in Green Bay, Wis., where her father was a piano player for the Packers, and young Sandra was involved with the team. “These days I root for the Vikings because I think sports can bring a community together. Some members of my family don’t like it.”
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she moved to New Orleans to try her skills as a jazz singer, but also got a job as an immigration paralegal. She began law school there, but finished at William Mitchell in St. Paul, and has made Minnesota her home ever since.
Feist, 47, lives in New Brighton and has her own law firm in downtown Minneapolis handing immigration law. She and her husband, Ben, have two children, ages 12 and 14.
She first ran for the Legislature in 2020 “to provide good and concrete help for the people around me.” She sought the DFL endorsement and got it.
“You should make the most of all the opportunities that come your way, always move in the right direction.”
One achievement she prizes was her bill that established measures for restorative justice for veterans. Restorative justice focuses on helping offenders get their lives back through reconciliation with victims and the community.
“I saw so many stories of veterans who were really struggling while they battled addiction and other trauma.”
Her latest effort this past year was to provide restorative justice for kids. “The effort is to stop kids who are on that path. What do they need? What do their families need? Is there a place to go for them rather than to just get into trouble?”
The bill will provide $8 million to help kids and not necessarily punish them. “We can do job training, build their confidence, give them a sense of the future and give them hope.”
Feist said one of the major issues affecting District 39B in coming years will be climate action. She is working on a 50-year clean water action plan with the University of Minnesota.
Another problem she’s working on is last year’s Meals for Everyone bill. It eliminated the state’s free and reduced lunch measuring stick for determining which schools had a high proportion of kids coming from low income families. “We’re trying to help students who may be underprepared to learn.”
Another initiative is working in the Civility Caucus, made up of two Democrats and two Republicans. “We are working on a basis to know each other and drawing in one another.”
She said much of her legislation in her four years has had bipartisan input. “In our bills, we listen to anyone who has an opinion. Nobody has all the answers. I want to hear all the voices. I enjoy crafting good law.”
KT Jacobs
KT Jacobs
Party affiliation: Republican
Interviewed at her home on Aug. 7, KT Jacobs said, “I’m tired of personal agendas. It’s getting in the way of good government. In the old days it was common to cross the aisle. I’d like to see us get back to basic good government and that comes from balance.”
She said it’s only in recent years that she has identified as a Republican. “It’s the first time in my life I’ve declared a party.”
Jacobs, while serving as a City of Columbia Heights City Council member, was the subject of a proposed recall election, but the election was thrown out by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
She expects that to be an issue, but in the end, “I feel like I have the ability to speak out again. Going through it was not easy, with people calling and threatening death or saying they were going to burn down my house with us in it. But the Supreme Court ruled. It was a very hard time, but I have mixed feelings about it. Some good came out of it.”
When she was young, Illinois Senator Everett Dirkson was a friend of the family. “He told me to stand for what I believe in, and believe in what I stand for.”
What are the issues in 39B?
“I’ve been door-knocking and many people don’t feel like the incumbent was as present as she could have been. I’m not afraid to get out there with constituency. I’m not afraid to participate. Before I was elected to the Columbia Heights City Council, I was at more meetings than some of the council members.
“I’ve also heard from people that they’ve seen their taxes raised, but they haven’t been told what it’s being spent on. We had a surplus last year, but they raised taxes anyways.”
One of her campaign platforms is illegal immigration. “They are proposing that the illegal immigrants have benefits. Who pays for that? At the same time, there are legal immigrants who need those benefits but don’t have access to them.”
“My opponent has done some good things and some not so good things. I like what she’s done for environmental sustainability. What she’s done for parks and recreation is good.”
Another issue Jacobs is talking about is the quality of the local schools. “Most of the schools are at about the state average, but that’s not good enough. The state put $4 billion toward schools this last session, but then tries to micromanage how it’s used. I think you have to trust the local schools to educate a child, to make good, sound fair decisions.”
The issue of bathrooms for transgender students, she said, has a solution. “Every floor of the school has a staff bathroom. Just make that a unisex bathroom where the student can have some privacy.”
Jacobs has said she read that her opponent has favored providing menstrual products for college kids. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”
And the issue of having police officers in schools she said was mishandled by the Legislature. “They never talked to the police, they just took a punitive police position.
“I was raised to believe that good government comes from balance. You can’t have balance if you’re pushing a personal agenda.”
Seats in the Minnesota House and the U.S. House are up for election. Want to know who to vote for in the Nov. 5 general election? Check out https://myballotmn.sos.mn.gov. Early voting can by done by mail or in person at St. Anthony and Columbia Heights city halls, and at Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services, 980 E. Hennepin Ave., Voting in person? Find your polling place at https://pollfinder.sos.mn.gov.