Meet Ben Wieman
A neighbor, a farmer, and a voice for rural Minnesota in St. Paul.
“The farmers, teachers, nurses, and veterans of District 17B deserve a representative who lives these realities and will be a tireless, common-sense advocate for our rural communities.”
— Ben Wieman
Roots Run Deep
Ben Wieman is the fifth generation to work the same land his great-great-grandparents broke ground on in 1886 — a dairy farm west of Arlington in Sibley County. More than 140 years of farming the same fields gives you a particular relationship with the land, with your neighbors, and with a firsthand understanding of what it takes for rural families and family farms to thrive.
Growing up on a working dairy farm means early mornings, long seasons, and no such thing as a sick day when the cows need tending. It also means understanding what it takes to keep a family operation viable when commodity prices swing, input costs rise, and corporate consolidation squeezes out the independent farmer.
Ben knows Sibley County’s back roads, its churches, its school districts, and its kitchen-table conversations — connections built over a lifetime of living and working right here.
Why I’m Running
Ben didn’t grow up planning to run for office — he grew up working on his family’s dairy farm in Sibley County. But watching the economic pressures mount on family operations across District 17B — corporate ag monopolies squeezing out independent farmers, rural hospitals closing, school funding formulas that shortchange rural districts, and prescription costs that force neighbors to choose between medication and groceries — he reached a point where staying on the sideline felt like a choice in itself.
The DFL stands for Democratic-Farmer-Labor. Ben believes those words should mean something. His campaign slogan, “Let’s Put the ‘F’ Back in DFL,” is a call to recommit to the farmers and working families who built this party and this state.
District 17B deserves a representative who wakes up every day focused on practical solutions for our rural communities. Ben is ready to be that voice in St. Paul.
Community First
Family Farming
Five generations of stewardship of the same land — a commitment to independent family farms over corporate agribusiness.
Rural Schools
Strong public schools are the cornerstone of healthy rural communities. Every student in 17B deserves a quality education close to home.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
The same spirit that brings farmers out to help each other in a hard season is the spirit District 17B needs in St. Paul.
Honoring Service
Veterans who served our country deserve robust care and support — a commitment Ben takes personally in a community full of those who served.
Minnesota House District 17B
Rooted in our rural communities across Sibley, McLeod, and Carver counties
Minnesota House District 17B encompasses the family farmsteads, small businesses, and hardworking communities of Sibley County and portions of McLeod and Carver counties. From township halls to local school districts, Ben has lived the rural realities of this district for a lifetime.
🌾 Sibley County
Arlington, Gaylord, Winthrop, Gibbon, Green Isle, Henderson, New Auburn, and Alfsborg, Cornish, Dryden, Faxon, Jessenland, Kelso, Severance, Sibley, and Transit Townships.
🚜 McLeod County
Winsted, Lester Prairie, Plato, Bergen Township, and Helen Township.
🏡 Carver County
Norwood Young America, Hamburg, Camden Township, Hancock Township, San Francisco Township, Hollywood Township, and Watertown Township.