Shuck stresses jobs, health care, education

It's a typical campaign-season evening for Bruce Shuck.

He's headed to a dinner at Crow River Lutheran Church in rural Belgrade to meet the voters, shake hands, answer questions and hand out campaign fliers.

The night before, he traveled to Albany to help campaign for DFL congressional candidate Patty Wetterling.

There's a "meet the candidates" night coming up in Melrose. A handful of debates with Shuck's Republican opponent, Bud Heidgerken, have been scheduled.

Shuck, a DFL'er, and Heidgerken are squaring off for the third time on the November ballot. Heidgerken has represented District 13A since 2002; the district covers northern Kandiyohi County, southwestern Stearns County and Pope County.

In this largely rural district, Shuck, 53, is at home.

"I've always been for the little guy," he said. "I'm a little guy myself."

He is running against Heidgerken for the third time because "it's time for a change in St. Paul," he said. "We need somebody in St. Paul who'll go to bat for working Minnesotans, for the uninsured, the underpaid.

We need somebody in west central Minnesota who'll stand up for the average Minnesotan."

Shuck hasn't strayed far from his roots. Growing up on a farm near Sunburg, he often heard his father talk about politics.

"He had political views," Shuck recalled. "He loved the Kennedys. He was very in tune with politics."

Shuck's first try at elected office came in 1994, when he ran for the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners and won.

He liked the nitty-gritty of local government and the sense that he was helping his constituents.

"That's what I enjoy about being in a leadership position -- to help people find some answers," he said.

It's what inspired him to first run for the Legislature in 2002, in the newly realigned District 13A.

Shuck said he was troubled by what he saw as "woeful inadequacies" in how Minnesota was being governed. "Decisions were being made that had an impact and that were poor decisions. I thought, 'I've got a message and I'm going to take it to St. Paul,'" he said.

He lost to Heidgerken in 2002 and again in a 2004 rematch.

This fall, as he goes door-knocking around the district, supporters have been telling him, "Third time is the charm."

Shuck said he has learned from his two previous and unsuccessful campaigns to stay focused on the issues most important to voters. "I try to stick to the message, and the message is health care, jobs, education and the environment," he said.

At the same time, he said he won't shrink from criticizing Heidgerken's record. "I'm not scared to point out his shortcomings on votes for this area," he said. "I think it is my job as his opponent."

Shuck readily admits to facing an uphill battle in Stearns County, where Heidgerken's power base is strongest and where many voters see abortion and gay marriage as key issues.

Instead, he's concentrating on building support among Democrats and courting the swing voters in Kandiyohi and Pope counties.

"I'm not going to get votes in Stearns County. My votes are in Kandiyohi County," he said.

Shuck believes his background -- rural, several years in farming, a stint in local government, experience with small business, currently working at WASP Industries in Glenwood -- gives him a solid understanding of his rural constituents' views and priorities.

If elected, one of his aims will be to restore school funding "back to at least inflation level," he said. "We haven't been funding it up to inflation."

Noting that health care premiums have skyrocketed in the past few years, he said he also wants to make health care coverage more affordable to working households.

A significant percentage of Minnesota's uninsured are rural, often self-employed as farmers or small-business owners, he said.

His proposal: Expand MinnesotaCare, the state's subsidized program, to include more of these people.

"Just because you're uninsured doesn't mean you're not getting sick. Uncompensated care is at an all-time high nationwide," he said. "MinnesotaCare is working. It's working well."

Shuck said he wants voters to see him as offering solutions for rural and small-town Minnesota.

"I think I've got a very mainstream train of thought. I think I know what's going on," he said.