Cal Warwas

REGIONAL- Cal Warwas, Republican candidate for House District 7B, says running for office is a way to give back to the Iron Range area that has given him so much.
“Like most Rangers, I just want to go to work, come home safely, and provide for my family,” said Warwas. “I want the same kinds of opportunities for the next generation here, like those that I have had. I didn’t stay all these years just to watch our region disappear into irrelevance.”
Warwas, who lives in Clinton Township, is a third-generation miner and a 27-year member of Steelworkers Local 1938. During his time at U.S. Steel in Mt. Iron, he has been a laborer, operator, millwright, and ironworker, and currently is a planner in the fabrication shop.
A Virginia native, Warwas and his wife, Maria, have nine children, four of them in their twenties, and three grandchildren.
Mining
Warwas is an ardent supporter of the mining industry and its contributions to the quality of life on the Range and believes in the need to expand the industry through mining of the area’s precious metals.
“In our regional economy, mining isn’t just a cog in the wheel, but rather, it is the wheel. I’ve toured the office, drill core, and mine sites of Talon Metals, Twin Metals, and NewRange Copper-Nickel, and can say with certainty that these projects are viable and sustainable, with decades of meaningful employment available, if we can only start them.”
Warwas believes those behind the proposed new mines are working to ensure that environmental impacts will be minimal, and he believes permitting reform is necessary to stop “the endless frivolous lawsuits against these good projects.” However, courts in Minnesota have consistently found at least some merit in the lawsuits filed by environmental groups, which suggests they may not be as frivolous as Warwas claims.
Manufacturing
With manufacturing jobs in the region on the rise the past three years, Warwas said that leveraging the region’s history of innovation and skilled workers, coupled with financial incentives, would help to bring more industry to the Range.
“Our local programs that turn out maintenance and construction electricians, maintenance and diesel mechanics, welders and others, have all been extremely helpful. Given that outside businesses tend to come here for our natural resources, we need to harness the power of local ingenuity to create good manufacturing jobs in our region. And we have a great tool in the IRRRB to incentivize this homegrown industry.”
Tax cuts
Warwas said the DFL squandered the opportunity to provide meaningful tax relief to the state’s families and seniors by spending most of the historic $19 billion budget surplus and enacting another $10 billion dollars in tax increases rather that tax cuts.
“The tax on social security needs to be completely removed – our senior community needs every dollar they can get to combat the devastating effects of record inflation,” he said. “Homeowners from all over the Range have this in common: we are all seeing insane increases in our property taxes. Though implemented by the county units of government, the formulas that drive these taxes are legislated in state statutes, and that formula needs to change so that people can not only afford to build their homes, but also to stay in them and enjoy the fruit of their labor.”
Energy
Warwas is alarmed by the growth in energy bills, both for individuals and businesses, and wants to promote responsible use of proven technologies such as nuclear power and biomass for energy generation.
“I work in taconite mining, where we as a region use approximately 30 percent of all electric power sold in the entire state, so part of the concern I share is what doubling the cost of electricity will do to our industries.”
“We absolutely need to re-think and re-tool the ‘carbon free by 2040’ bill,” he continued. “It is based on ideology and technology that has not yet been implemented on such a large scale, and power sources will easily become unreliable. We need balanced energy policy, and that includes lifting the moratorium on nuclear energy and using biomass, which will support our local logging community.”
Warwas has, at times, dismissed climate change (the impetus behind the 2040 carbon-free standard) as a hoax, according to research of his social media postings by the Minnesota Reformer. “Warwas has repeatedly suggested climate change is a hoax or a scam,” reported the Reformer back in May. “In 2019 he shared a Twitter post by a climate denier, adding “I’ve said this for years: lying to kids, making climate ‘science’ a de facto public religion, then using that collective voice to sway public opinion and votes so elite socialists can take away our freedoms. He included the hashtag #climatehoax.”
In response to a question by the Timberjay about his social media comments in the Reformer article, Warwas acknowledged that the climate has been changing, but he sees problems with the way it’s being addressed.
“When mentioning the ‘hoax’ of Climate Change on ‘X’, I’m not saying the weather hasn’t changed, but that certain efforts to end or slow the demise of our planet are, in fact, another type of industry and a way to collect ratepayer and taxpayer money.”
Warwas also takes issue with the state’s decision to speed up the transition to carbon free energy sources.
“Minnesota has enacted legislation in the ’23 session that says we will be ‘carbon free by 2040,’ in an effort to stem climate change. This mandate is a tax on the poor and the working class, as it will wildly raise the cost of heating, transportation, food – the list goes on. The high cost of energy, in the name of fighting climate change, will also hurt business and industry (that means all mining and mining jobs in the Northland, the backbone of our economy), and continue to destroy domestic manufacturing jobs like those recently lost at a foundry in Hibbing, near my hometown – 90 good paying, union jobs – gone forever due to high energy costs. These costs are hurting consumers in an era of record inflation, and also threatening the reliability of our electrical grid.”
Reproductive rights
As a pro-life advocate, Warwas would like to see some limits placed on access to abortion, while at the same time increasing state support for pregnancy care.
“The people of the Iron Range value life, and I am proud to be pro-life,” Warwas said. “A poll conducted a few years back indicated that 71 percent of Minnesotans believe there should be some limits on abortion. In Minnesota, we currently have none, thanks to the trifecta (of DFL control of state government). That is not what people voted for in 2022. Women, and their babies, should be afforded as many protections as possible from any and all harm. The budget forecast for next year won’t be out until after the election, but it seems fair to say that we can, and should, find a way to help women and their families through pregnancy care centers, which often struggle with funding.”
Second Amendment
Endorsed by the NRA-PVF and the Minnesota Peace and Police Officer’s Association, Warwas supports the Second Amendment and would work to preserve current gun rights. To fight gun-related crime, Warwas believes in providing stronger support to law enforcement for recruitment and retention and doing a better job of enforcing the laws we already have.
“Locking up the worst offenders and ending the revolving door from the courthouse to the streets is among the best ways to stop actual gun crimes,” Warwas said. “We have plenty of laws on the books, but we should be able to expect prosecutors to enforce them rather than create more.”
Education
As a former board member for the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS), Warwas has experience with initiatives supporting education. While he supports the use of technology in education, Warwas advocates putting more emphasis on the basics.
“Strengthening the foundation of a child’s learning to be certain they excel at reading, writing, math, history and yes, music will ensure they are ready to understand the more technical aspects of computer coursework.”
School districts should have more local control to meet the needs of their students, Warwas said, and one of those needs is for more opportunities for career technical education for non-university-bound students.
“We have focused too long on trying to get every student ready to attend a four-year college or university,” he said. “Less than half of kids will attend a four-year college and many of those kids won’t graduate with a degree. We need to restore some focus on technical education to prepare every kid for a future that actually suits their skill sets and abilities.”
Emergency services
Warwas has served on the Clinton Township Board of Supervisors since 2020, and said that disparities in emergency coverage of fire and first responders mirrors the issues faced by regional ambulance services. While advocating for an increase in federal reimbursement rates, Warwas believes an increase in base pay for EMTs and paramedic workers would help to incentivize participation for full-time services.
“That said, our volunteers who are often first on site are dwindling, and that is a part of the conversation that is rarely heard,” he said. “First responders can make the difference between life and death where there is no ambulance coming soon, and I believe we need to provide at minimum a tax break for first responders and volunteer firefighters, and also standardize base rates for showing up to a scene of an accident or fire…We also need ongoing state support, not just one time funding.”
If elected, Warwas said he has an interest in serving on the Natural Resources Committee and Energy Committee, and Transportation and Public Safety are also of great interest, he said. And which ever party is in control of the chamber, Warwas said he is prepared to work across the aisle to best represent his district.
“I won’t know till I get there where I will best fit in, but I will do my best to serve all my constituents in District 7B,” he concluded.