((PKG)) CLIMBING THE HILL -- (R) PETE STAUBER ((Banner: Climbing the Hill -- Republican)) ((Reporter: Carolyn Presutti)) ((Camera: Jeff Swicord)) ((Additional Camera: Arturo Martinez)) ((Drone: Marcus Harton)) ((Producer: Jacquelyn De Phillips)) ((Map: Duluth, Minnesota)) ((NATS)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) I was born and raised in Duluth Minnesota. Duluth is blue collar workers, just like the rest of Minnesota. “Minnesota nice.” It sits on the western edge of that greatest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Superior. That's where our recreation happens. That's where our shipping takes place. That's where our fishing…it's just beautiful. ((NATS)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) My family has always been in community service. I ran because I wanted to bring that common sense conservative values to Congress. The greatest generation gave us a wonderful country. It's incumbent upon my generation now, to make sure that we leave this United States in better shape to our kids and grandkids, so they have a prosperous and a free future. ((NATS Stauber: It’s the greatest fresh water lake in the world right there, Lake Superior. Jodi: Pizza! Addilyn: You look so good, Isaac. Jodi: Best night ever. Stauber: You know with the four kids, my wife and I, I mean we enjoy it. It’s organized chaos. Jodi: You’re done eating already? Levi: Yeah.)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) Levi, our oldest son is 19. He's playing junior hockey at Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Michigan. Our second oldest son is Luke. He'll just be graduating this spring and he wants to go into aviation and be a pilot. And then, of course, our 16 year old son Isaac. He's the light of our lives. He’s an unexpected blessing. He's our child with Down syndrome. And then our daughter Addilyn is 12 years old. ((NATS Jodi: Isaac, it’s your favorite, isn’t it. Pizza.)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) My wife has a passion for serving as well. She served in the military at Duluth’s 148th fighter wing. She's also an Iraq war veteran. I'm so grateful for her support in allowing me to serve. Without her 100 percent committed support, I would not be here. ((NATS Jodi: Okay, about 12 minutes, maybe do 11, because that looks pretty well cooked.)) ((Jodi Stauber, Spouse)) Isn't it crazy? It's been, like, two years now since, maybe a little over two years since we started the conversation about running for Congress. ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) We went to Washington to meet with some members of Congress to see if, you know, what it's like, and can your marriage survive? Can you still be the parents that we want to be, serving as a member of Congress? ((Jodi Stauber, Spouse)) One of the concerns I had, when we first started talking about this was, how are we going to maintain our family life and stay close with the kids and each other? It takes a lot of juggling and it's a complicated situation, with working in the district when you're home and working in Washington. We've never had a 9-to-5 family. Shift work has been part of our life with both of our careers at times. ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) It's not easy. We always talk about in the military, when the, you know, the individual service members serve, so does his or her family. In this case, it's the same. As I serve as a member of Congress, you, by extension are serving also. But I remember, when we decided that we were having the conversation and you looked at me and you said, ‘I'm not sure I signed up for this when I married you.’ ((Jodi Stauber, Spouse)) That's right. ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) But if you don't have your spouse, if I don't have your 100 percent committed support, it's not going to happen, you know. And I also talked about this cannot interrupt our marriage or me being a father. If it interrupts those two, then it's not worth it. ((Jodi Stauber, Spouse)) I think it would have been, it would have been a challenge for me to continue working because we have a son with special needs, and the bottom line is, you know, he needs extra care and extra attention and cannot be left on his own. So, it's really a huge blessing that I have been able to focus on our home and our family and our marriage and be able to feel like I can provide that stability for all of us. ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) And you do, yeah. ((Location: PolyMet Mining, Hoyt Lakes, Minnesotta)) ((NATS)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) In Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, mining is our past, our present and our future. We've been mining for 150-some years. We talk about the Iron Range in Minnesota. That's where the iron ore was mined to make the steel. It helped us win World War II. Close to 70 percent of the steel that's made in this country is mined by Minnesota's Iron Range. So, we're very proud in Minnesota when it comes to steel making. ((NATS)) ((Jimmy Lovrien, Duluth News Tribune)) The last, you know, weeks of the Obama administration, you know, they said, "No more", you know, "mine exploration in the Superior National Forest.” ((Courtesy: Duluth News Tribune, Clint Austin, Adelle Whitefoot)) ((NATS)) ((Jimmy Lovrien, Duluth News Tribune)) Trump comes in, pro-industry, announced, you know, sitting next to different mining executives, “Let's reopen the Superior National Forest in that area to mineral exploration. Let's not hold back.” ((Courtesy: Duluth News Tribune, Clint Austin, Adelle Whitefoot)) ((NATS)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) So together, we can unleash the economic engine in northern Minnesota. ((Jimmy Lovrien, Duluth News Tribune)) And I think, Trump, kind of, mirrored that with, “Let’s do it.” ((Courtesy: Duluth News Tribune, Clint Austin, Adelle Whitefoot)) ((NATS Stauber: Thank you, Mr. President.)) ((Brady Slater, Duluth News Tribune)) The visit, to me, was a pretty galvanizing moment for Stauber. It showed all of the Trump supporters that Pete was their guy. ((Courtesy: Duluth News Tribune; Clint Austin, Adelle Whitefoot)) ((NATS: Stauber: Thank you. God bless America.)) ((Location: Enchanted Dairy, Little Falls, Minnesota)) ((NATS Ron Miller: They have a family back at home and they need a better life for them. They’re just hardworking folks.)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) In Minnesota's 8th District, the western and the southern part are mostly farms. ((NATS Ron Miller: They go from that little calf to those big, you know, in just two months.)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) Farmers, they feed us, not only locally, they feed this nation and they feed the world. ((NATS Ron Miller: I don’t know if you can read Spanish but that means feed once a day.)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) I understand the stresses that they have every single day. And I want to make sure that, in Congress, we legislate to benefit and help our farmers, not burden them. ((Ron Miller, Owner, Enchanted Dairy)) One of the, our concerns is hiring people and the importance of the Hispanic worker and trying to get an immigration policy that works. The present system obviously is broke, and I think there’s a real opportunity. ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) The whole campaign, what I've been hearing since, you know, I was elected, the ability to bring workers in, to work at farms, you know, that want to work. ((Ron Miller, Owner, Enchanted Dairy)) Amen. ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) Because the workforce, we're short right now. ((Ron Miller, Owner, Enchanted Dairy)) Yes. ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) Not only here in Minnesota, but across the nation, we’re hearing that in all the committee hearings. We're into workforce development and training people, you know….. ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) I support legal immigration. Our country was built on legal immigration and legal immigrants still enhance this country today. Some of our farmers and some of our seasonal businesses in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, the resort owners, they're looking for those migrant workers to help out because they're short of workforce. ((NATS Ron Miller: So appreciate that you did come and took the time for us. Stauber: Oh, absolutely.)) ((Location: Washington, D.C.)) ((NATS)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) When I was sworn in, it was just amazing. I’ve been blessed in my life to do a lot of neat things. Being a member of Congress is something that is just surreal. It goes to show you that, in this country, that we can do wonderful things. ((NATS: Swearing in party, Stauber’s new DC office Stauber: This is my daughter Addilyn. Congressman Mueller. Mueller: And you can whip all of them, right?)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) My big goal is to make sure that legislation that we put forth, number one, is bipartisan and moves the country forward. I'm hoping for a really, really good infrastructure bill that brings our roads and bridges up to safe standards they need. ((NATS: Stauber’s new DC office Man: Do you know how proud I am of you?)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) I want to make sure that rural broadband is implemented throughout this country. I want to sure that our military has what they need. I want to make sure that Medicare and Social Security are solvent for many generations. And I want to make sure that our special needs population has a voice at the table, always. I'm an open-minded person. I'm talking to a lot of people on both sides of the aisle. ((NATS Man: I represent the rail workers. Stauber: Oh yes. Man: I am from North Dakota.)) ((Congressman Pete Stauber, Republican - Minnesota)) I am going to attribute it to Gov. John Kasich out of Ohio when he said, “The Republican Party is my vehicle, it is not my master.” And I follow that because I serve everybody. At least I try to serve everybody. ((NATS))