I am writing to you directly because what I am proposing affects your cost structure, your future supply chain, and your long-term capital deployment — here in Minnesota, where we are changing the face of business and politics. These are conversations that belong at the executive level, not in a government affairs office.
I am Brad Kohler. I am running for Governor of Minnesota as an Independent Conservative in 2026. I am not writing to ask for a campaign contribution. I am writing to offer you a contract.
Minnesota is sitting on between $2.3 and $4.2 trillion in confirmed in-ground critical mineral value — ninety-five percent of U.S. nickel reserves, eighty-eight percent of cobalt, seventy-five percent of platinum group metals, and the world's richest confirmed helium deposit. Six Iron Range taconite facilities discharge enough waste heat to power 65,000 homes annually at a marginal fuel cost of zero. The Iron Range has a regional airport currently serving 125 passengers with vending machine concessions. The state has done nothing with any of it for sixty years.
On January 20, 2027, that changes. And I am writing to ask whether your corporation wants to be part of what comes next — on terms that are specific, contractual, and publicly documented.
The Minnesota Business Compact is the framework I am proposing to every corporation willing to engage. It has three instruments. Here is what each one means for your organization.
| Lock Term | What You Get | What You Commit To | Enforcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-Year Lock | Current statutory rate locked. Wage Appreciation Deduction included throughout. | Wage floor at or above Minnesota median for all Minnesota positions. | Annual wage reporting to Department of Revenue. Rate reverts to statutory if floor is breached. |
| 10-Year Lock | Negotiated rate not to exceed current statutory rate. Both Wage Appreciation Deduction and Infrastructure Down Payment Credit included. | Wage floor commitment for full contract term. Minimum workforce size maintained. | Annual OLA audit compliance. Public wage reporting. Rate differential clawback on early exit. |
| 20-Year Lock | Negotiated rate with floor. All three instruments included plus CBA multiplier. Maximum cost certainty available in any U.S. state for a capital deployment of this duration. | Community Benefit Agreement concurrent with lock period. Annual public wage reporting. OLA audit compliance. Wage floor enforced throughout. | Full clawback of discounted tax differential for remaining contract years on early exit or floor breach. Published compliance record annually. |
I want to be direct about the clawback. If your corporation signs a twenty-year rate lock, benefits from the preferential rate for twelve years, and then closes the Minnesota facility, you owe the state the discounted tax differential for the remaining eight years. That is not a penalty for doing business. It is the enforcement mechanism that makes the contract worth signing in the first place. A rate lock without a clawback is a promise. A rate lock with a clawback is a contract. I am offering contracts.
The specific ask to your organization is this: a Community Benefit Agreement committing to a documented wage floor, a housing infrastructure contribution proportional to the workforce you bring to Minnesota, and a local hiring preference in your initial recruitment. In return, you receive the Infrastructure Down Payment Credit, the Wage Appreciation Deduction, and eligibility for a Rate Lock at the term your capital deployment requires.
Your response — whatever it is — will be published publicly on the Agenda Minnesota corporate outreach tracker. A commitment is published as a commitment. A declination is published as a declination. A non-response after thirty days is published as a non-response. The table is being built in public. Every corporation on it is on the record.
I am not asking you to endorse a candidate. I am asking whether your corporation wants to be part of building the most competitive business environment in the industrial Midwest — on a contract, with a wage floor, and with your name on the agreement before the first permit is signed.
The full platform, all fifty primary sources, and the seven Day One executive orders are available at the address below. I welcome a direct conversation with your executive team at your convenience.