Curious, Not Furious: Rep. Luke Frederick on Getting Involved, Mental Health and What's at Stake

Minnesota State Representative Luke Frederick (District 18B) sits down with Mike Lagerquist and Becki True for a wide-ranging conversation about what it is like to serve in the legislature, and what is at stake for Mankato, North Mankato, St. Peter and Blue Earth County. The interview was recorded in March 2026 and is part of our Get Election Ready series.

Luke grew up in Mankato, spent 21 years working direct care at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center, and got into politics through his union, AFSCME. He explains how legislation gets made, why bipartisanship is harder than ever, and why it still happens.

In this conversation:

• How a state hospital worker became a state representative
• What happens at caucuses, and why most people leave too early
• The steps from caucus to convention to endorsement
• Why stories have more power than data when you want to move legislators
• The toll of the Melissa Hortman assassination on the legislature
• The $260 million in Medicaid funding being withheld from Minnesota, and why the state can't get answers
• The contradiction Luke sees in colleagues who demand fraud reform while blocking guardrail legislation
• How to contact your representative and be heard
• What he means by "get curious, not furious"

Shorter clips from this conversation are on our channel, including why your story has power, how he went from politically clueless to the Capitol and grief, PTSD and governing under fire.

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