Meet Katrina Christiansen, running for U.S. Senate in North Dakota
Katrina believes that we need representatives in Congress who will protect democracy and represent everyone, not just special interests. Her goal is to make government work better, to support and fund education, and to protect and improve the programs people depend on.
Katrina is an agricultural engineer with a Ph.D. from Iowa State. She also has a Masters in Biosystems Engineering and has worked in that industry for 15 years. Katrina has been an assistant professor of Engineering University at the University of Jamestown for 4 years, has three patents, and is a trained problem solver! She doesn’t see that the representatives from her state are working to solve problems and wants to step in to make things happen.
According to Katrina, In North Dakota, funding education doesn’t get enough attention. Her goal is to make sure that schools have the resources they need to be fully operational and to offer children a good public education. She also sees a lack in resources for the social and behavioral challenges that have accumulated since the pandemic took children out of the classroom. Katrina wants people and legislators to see that classrooms now have a need for additional support. We found out that 24 counties in her state have no mental health professionals. Katrina wants to close these gaps and help fund behavioral and mental health support in her state!
As a forward-thinking problem solver, Katrina has ideas about how her state can diversify its economy in case of disruptions within certain sectors. More specifically, she believes that there is a need to look beyond oil and gas to increase alternative energy supplies by supporting its current employees and finding new technologies and innovations in energy systems. She believes a good representative can find solutions to energy needs while addressing climate change.
Katrina believes that Medicare and Social Security needs to be protected. She supports codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law. She also thinks the farm bill, which North Dakota is dependent upon, should not only support farmers through market and weather volatility, but also fund food and nutrition programs so that the country benefits from those farm supports.
She believes in protecting our Democracy from those who try to take away voting rights from people and who want to limit freedom, including in the classroom, library, and doctor’s office.
Katrina has seen many government shutdowns and stalemates because of obstruction on the debt ceiling and failure to work on solutions. If elected, one of her goals is to make sure that government operations keep moving and that new solutions are applied to old programs
Katrina wants the world to know that North Dakota is a beautiful state full of prairies, grasses, wildlife preserves, and natural beauty. She has seen many parts of the state while traveling to campaign and have found so many pockets of beauty along the way. Katrina has a labrador and two cats, and she is an avid runner who has been running for most of her life. She has three children who constantly inspire her to keep campaigning and pushing for a better future.