# Roger Skraba *American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023* Roger J. Skraba (born November 29, 1961) is a Republican member of the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]], where he has represented District 3A in northern [[Minnesota]] since 2023.[^1] The district takes in the cities of International Falls and Ely along with all or part of Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake and St. Louis Counties.[^1] Skraba belongs to the [[Republican Party of Minnesota]]. He was previously a DFL member and had run for the House in 2002 as the Independence Party nominee.[^1] Before entering the Legislature he held local office in Ely, including four terms as mayor. In 2010, while he was mayor, he was sentenced in federal court for offenses in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and on U.S. Forest Service property.[^1] ## Early life, education and career Skraba is a native of Ely, Minnesota. He finished Ely Memorial High School and holds a bachelor's degree in construction management from North Dakota State University.[^1] His nine years in the United States Army ended at the rank of Sergeant.[^1] His local service included the St. Louis County Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission and the Ely City Council. Ely voters chose him as mayor four times, the last in 2021.[^1] Before he became a Republican, Skraba was a DFL member. In the 2012 DFL primary in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, he backed Jeff Anderson to take on Chip Cravaack. Rick Nolan won that primary, and Skraba then endorsed Cravaack.[^1] ## Minnesota House of Representatives Skraba won his House seat in the 2022 election.[^1] His first House campaign came in 2002, when he ran as the Independence Party nominee and placed third, behind Republican Tom Porter and Democrat David Dill.[^1] After Dill's death he ran in the 2015 special election and was defeated by the DFL nominee, Rob Ecklund.[^1] In their 2022 rematch his margin over Ecklund was 0.07 percent. That margin required an automatic recount under state law, and after the recount Skraba was declared the winner by 15 votes.[^1] His committee assignments are Capital Investment; Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy; and Legacy Finance.[^1] ### Political positions In 2010 Skraba, described in the source as a longtime supporter of the mining industry, urged then-Governor [[Mark Dayton]] to appoint department heads sympathetic to mining projects.[^1] He has criticized environmentalists within the DFL. He has said that onerous permitting processes for mining have held back northern Minnesota.[^1] He opposed the Biden administration's cancellation of leases for the Twin Metals copper-nickel mine in the region.[^1] Skraba has worked as a canoe guide. He has backed northern Minnesota's tourism industry while saying that it "does not produce all the money Ely needs to function".[^1] He supported a 2023 infrastructure package that included over $40 million for northern Minnesota projects and called it "a good bill for the Northland".[^1] In 2023 the legislature passed, with bipartisan support, a bill he co-sponsored that extended unemployment benefits to miners who had been laid off.[^1] ## Personal life Skraba lives in Ely. He is Catholic and a parishioner of St. Anthony's Catholic Church there.[^1] ### Legal issues In 2010, during his tenure as mayor of Ely, Skraba pleaded guilty to operating his snowmobile in the restricted Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and was sentenced in federal court.[^1] His sentence also covered breaking into a U.S. Forest Service shed and the theft of a portable toilet, which he had hidden.[^1] The court imposed a $3,630 fine, 40 hours of community service and two years of probation.[^1] The source also reports a past bankruptcy filing. It gives no date or details.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Roger J. Skraba, born November 29, 1961, a member of the Republican Party of Minnesota and formerly a DFL member.[^1] ### What - Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 3A, serving since 2023.[^1] ### When - 2002: third-place finish for the House as the Independence Party nominee.[^1] - 2010: sentenced in federal court while mayor of Ely.[^1] - 2015: lost a House special election to Rob Ecklund (DFL).[^1] - 2021: most recent of four elections as mayor of Ely.[^1] - 2022: elected to the House after an automatic recount, by 15 votes.[^1] ### Where - Born in and resides in Ely; represents a district that includes International Falls and Ely.[^1] ### How much - $3,630 fine in the 2010 federal sentence.[^1] - Over $40 million for northern Minnesota projects in the 2023 infrastructure package he supported.[^1] ### How many - 40 hours of community service and two years' probation in the 2010 sentence.[^1] - 15-vote final margin, or 0.07 percent, in the 2022 House election.[^1] - Four elections as mayor of Ely.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Roger Skraba* (revision 1365776714, retrieved 2026-10-26) — biographical, electoral, committee, policy-position and 2010 federal sentencing facts as stated in the article; no primary source in the pack. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Skraba