# Shane Mekeland *Republican member of the Minnesota House of Representatives (District 27A)* Shane Mekeland (born July 28, 1969) is an American politician and a Republican member of the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]], where he has held the District 27A seat since 2019.[^1] The district lies in central [[Minnesota]] and covers [[Big Lake]], [[Becker]] and adjacent parts of Sherburne County.[^1] He is affiliated with the [[Republican Party of Minnesota]].[^1] Mekeland won the seat in 2018 and has won each biennial election since.[^1] His documented record includes a 2020 request that Sherburne County become a "Second Amendment sanctuary". It also includes a letter he signed asking the Texas attorney general to add Minnesota to a lawsuit over other states' election results, and his lead sponsorship in 2025 of a bill to classify mRNA treatments as weapons of mass destruction.[^1] The House publishes his press releases in an official member archive.[^2] Independent profiles of him are kept by LegiScan[^5] and Ballotpedia.[^6] ## Early life and career For two decades, Mekeland managed and owned a convenience store. He also works as a general contractor.[^1] ## Minnesota House of Representatives Mekeland entered the 2018 race after Jim Newberger, who had held the seat for three terms, chose not to run again so that he could seek a U.S. Senate seat that year.[^1] Mekeland has been returned to office at every election since.[^1] His committee assignments are Climate and Energy Finance and Policy, and Labor and Industry Finance and Policy.[^1] His official House archive includes a release titled *Costly, expansive details in worker leave bill*. The record does not establish the release's date or its text.[^3] The archive holds further releases.[^2][^4] ### Political positions According to Wikipedia, Mekeland has called for an audit of the 2020 election.[^1] The same article reports that on December 10, 2022, he added his name to a letter asking Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to include Minnesota in Paxton's lawsuit seeking to invalidate election results in other states. That suit was unsuccessful. The letter cited "illegal voting practices" in Minnesota.[^1] In 2020, he sent a letter to the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners requesting that it declare the county a "Second Amendment sanctuary".[^1] Mekeland spoke against bipartisan legislation that would have expanded legal protections for meatpacking workers. Wikipedia reports his position as follows: current law already addressed injuries and related problems, and further regulation would push the industry toward consolidation.[^1] He has also faulted cities for setting building-permit fees high enough to fund unrelated government services.[^1] In 2025, he was lead sponsor of a bill to classify messenger RNA (mRNA) treatments as "weapons of mass destruction". That category includes several COVID-19 vaccines. The bill would make possessing or administering such treatments a crime carrying up to 20 years' imprisonment.[^1] Wikipedia states that the bill's text was written by a hypnotist based in Florida who describes mRNA treatments as "nanoparticle injections".[^1] ## Personal life Mekeland lives in Clear Lake, Minnesota, with his partner, Angela. He has one child.[^1] In October 2018, he was assaulted at a restaurant in St. George Township and sustained a concussion.[^1] He said he believed the assault was politically motivated. He also wrote online that "the media and the likes of Maxine Waters, Hillary, and Eric Holder" were responsible for driving such behavior.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Shane Mekeland* (revision 1365782866, retrieved 2026-10-26) — birth date, district, party, election history, committee assignments, positions and personal details as reported by that article. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Mekeland [^2]: Minnesota House of Representatives, *Shane Mekeland press archive* (undated) — official archive of the member's press releases. https://www.house.mn.gov/members/profile/news/15500 [^3]: Minnesota House of Representatives, *Costly, expansive details in worker leave bill* (undated) — official member release bearing this title. https://www.house.mn.gov/members/profile/news/15500/48650 [^4]: Minnesota House of Representatives, *Mekeland release* (undated) — official member release in the archive. https://www.house.mn.gov/members/profile/news/15500/52027 [^5]: LegiScan, *Shane Mekeland* (undated) — legislator profile. https://legiscan.com/MN/people/shane-mekeland/id/20623 [^6]: Ballotpedia, *Shane Mekeland* (undated) — profile of the legislator. https://ballotpedia.org/Shane_Mekeland