Lignite Energy Council Podcast
Sep 22, 2026 · 47 min · 9 segments
**Mike Holmes, Mike Heger, Steve Sauter** **Moderator: Jessica Bell** Three first-time legislative candidates shared what motivated them to seek public office, the experiences that shaped their…
Jessica BellHost
Mike HagerGuest
Steve SauterGuest
Mike HolmesGuest
I'm sure you all know all the priorities for the state, whether it be property taxes, energy industry issues.
What is your individual number one priority if you are elected to serve in this next legislative session? And I'll start with Mike, because I think he knows his answer.
Of course, you can look back and say, what kind of difference would you like to make? Well, and it is creating the same great opportunities we've all had in this state for next generations.
So how do you do that? At one panel I was on, they asked, and I ended up going last, what are we gonna do if the legacy fund goes away? So I said at the end, it's not designed to go away and why are we going gloom and doom instead of creating economic opportunity throughout the state, taking advantage of the fact that we have the lowest cost, most reliable electricity in the state and creating new opportunities and doubling the legacy fund.
So everything from making Bakken 2.0 a reality And the different graphite manufacturer, construction materials manufacturer, I mean, we'll take our 800 year supply that our geologist for the state has come up with and say, all right, we can live with 790 years supply and use it for other things.
There's so many things we can do with the resources in our state beyond what we're doing, and those are what creates opportunities for our next generations to have great jobs in addition to the ones that are already there.
So it would be all the opportunities, economic, that come forward and figuring out how to make those happen.
Do you have any idea of what committees you'd like to serve on if you're elected?
I think I'd push hardest to be on the energy front and then end up with whatever else I got pushed into, and there are certain ones I would feel below water.
I'm sure you all know all the priorities for the state, whether it be property taxes, energy industry issues.
What is your individual number one priority if you are elected to serve in this next legislative session? And I'll start with Mike, because I think he knows his answer.
Of course, you can look back and say, what kind of difference would you like to make? Well, and it is creating the same great opportunities we've all had in this state for next generations.
So how do you do that? At one panel I was on, they asked, and I ended up going last, what are we gonna do if the legacy fund goes away? So I said at the end, it's not designed to go away and why are we going gloom and doom instead of creating economic opportunity throughout the state, taking advantage of the fact that we have the lowest cost, most reliable electricity in the state and creating new opportunities and doubling the legacy fund.
So everything from making Bakken 2.0 a reality And the different graphite manufacturer, construction materials manufacturer, I mean, we'll take our 800 year supply that our geologist for the state has come up with and say, all right, we can live with 790 years supply and use it for other things.
There's so many things we can do with the resources in our state beyond what we're doing, and those are what creates opportunities for our next generations to have great jobs in addition to the ones that are already there.
So it would be all the opportunities, economic, that come forward and figuring out how to make those happen.
Do you have any idea of what committees you'd like to serve on if you're elected?
I think I'd push hardest to be on the energy front and then end up with whatever else I got pushed into, and there are certain ones I would feel below water.
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