St. Cloud City Councilman Mike Conway Running for Minnesota House District 14A

Originally published at 9:16 a.m. on December 23, 2025.

Updated at 12:15 p.m. on December 23, 2025

(KNSI) — St. Cloud City Councilman Mike Conway is making a run for the Minnesota House of Representatives in District 14A.

The seat opened up after Republican Representative Bernie Perryman decided to run for the Minnesota Senate instead. If she lands on the final ballot, she will likely take on incumbent Democratic Senator Aric Putnam.

Conway tells KNSI Radio that he was ready to be done with government. He had no intention of running for a third term on the city council and had lost his run for mayor. Perryman’s move opened the door to a new option, though.

“The things that have transpired over the last couple of weeks, and I thought, you know, this would be an opportunity for me to still serve the community and represent the people I’ve been fortunate to represent, and now take it to the state.”

Conway’s council district sits within the 14A map. He would also need to win over residents of Waite Park and St. Augusta to make it through the Republican primary and general election.

Conway has lived in St. Cloud since the 1990s and makes his home in the southwest part of the city with his wife, Lisa. He graduated from St. Cloud State University with a double major in Education and Biology, then spent more than 24 years in the private sector working as a trainer and software support specialist.

If Conway wins, he wants to serve committees overseeing commerce, particularly financial regulation, and emergency services. He hopes to overhaul the 911 communication system, using the recent manhunt for accused shooter Vance Boelter as an example of why it is needed. “All of those different agencies need to be able to talk to each other. And it wasn’t up until about 20-some odd years ago that the state finally said, ‘Okay, let’s create a radio band that we can do across the state.’ But now those things are getting old. The infrastructure needs to be updated.”

Conway says to think about how often the average person upgrades their cell phones or computers. He wants the state to do the same rather than rely on 20- to 30-year-old technology.

He is bringing eight years of local government experience to the race. According to a press release announcing his candidacy, during his time on the St. Cloud City Council, Conway has pushed for fiscal responsibility, transparency and public safety. He’s made a habit of emphasizing responsible budgeting, supporting local businesses and listening to constituents.

Conway spoke about the letter sent this week to Governor Tim Walz and state legislators by a coalition of mayors, saying his experience at the city level can be an asset in St. Paul. He can inform colleagues about what the consequences of their bills will be on other levels of government. He uses the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act as an example.

“Their mindset is, ‘Oh, we’re just going to stick it to big business,’ but they forgot that every employee and employer is going to have to deal with this, which means all of your cities, your counties, your schools. All these different areas that can’t just raise their prices to offset their costs.”

He’s also a familiar face in local youth sports, having coached with the St. Cloud Youth Hockey Association for several years.

More information is available by clicking here.

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