Perham graduate Owen Werner runs for House, touts local priorities

Housing is the sharpest kitchen-table issue in House District 9B, where 23% of Otter Tail County households are cost-burdened and 535 extremely low-income renters do not have access to a home they can afford. County figures show the pressure is hitting both sides of the market: 42% of renters and 19% of owners are cost-burdened, 61% of senior renters are in that category, owner income rose only 1% from 2019 to 2024 to $85,697 while home values climbed 17% to $273,000, and renter income fell 4% to $36,830 while rent rose 4% to $868.

That backdrop gives Owen Werner’s campaign its clearest opening. Werner, a Perham graduate with a 2020 diploma from Perham High School and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Hamline University, is running for the Minnesota House on a message built around affordable housing, lower healthcare costs, stronger public schools and support for the working class. He now works as an accountant for KLN Family Brands and was raised in Perham with three siblings in a family of farmers, details his campaign is using to underscore local roots and a numbers-based approach to state policy.

Werner is seeking a seat that is already politically contested and tied closely to local economic concerns. District 9B includes portions of Otter Tail County and Douglas County, and it is currently held by Republican Tom Murphy of Underwood, who was first elected in 2022. Murphy won reelection in 2024 over DFL challenger Jason Satter of Pelican Rapids, a result that showed the district remains competitive even as it leans into familiar local issues such as taxes, schools and the cost of living. Minnesota’s legislative districts were redrawn after the 2020 Census, so 9B is still part of the post-redistricting map voters are learning to navigate.

Housing policy is also not an abstract talking point in Otter Tail County. County leaders say all residents should have access to safe, decent and affordable housing, and the county and its Housing and Redevelopment Authority created a Housing Trust Fund to increase the supply and quality of housing. For voters weighing Werner’s pitch, the question is whether a candidate with an accounting background can turn those local cost pressures into legislative action that holds down household strain in Perham, Fergus Falls and the rest of the district.

Healthcare brings a similar test. The Partnership4Health Community Health Assessment for Becker, Clay, Otter Tail and Wilkin counties identifies access to and affordability of care, mental health and transportation as central regional concerns. That leaves Werner’s promise of lower healthcare costs tied to a broader public planning effort already focused on the same bottlenecks, from clinic access to how residents get there.