Republicans in the Minnesota House of Representatives announced they will file an ethics complaint against DFL State Rep. Alex Falconer following an Alpha New report about Falconer’s relationship with a environmental lobbyist group.
Alpha News reported Monday that Falconer carried legislation in 2025 that was supported by Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW), a group that lobbies state lawmakers. In a financial disclosure statement from January of 2026, Falconer said he worked for NMW.
Information from the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board also shows that Falconer, or his wife, received income from NMW in 2025. Falconer took office as a DFL state lawmaker in January of 2025 — Falconer was a lobbyist with NMW the month before taking office.
Now, the House Republican Caucus is going to bring an ethics complaint against Falconer.
“Rep. Falconer is effectively a legislator lobbyist,” said GOP State Rep. Isaac Schultz in a statement. “He was employed as a lobbyist until days before he took the oath of office, swapped his job title, and continues to push legislation supported by the very people who are signing his paycheck.”
Alpha News contacted both Falconer and the House DFL Caucus for this story, but neither immediately responded to a media inquiry.
Hours before the House GOP announced it would bring an ethics complaint against Falconer, the House DFL said it was going to file an ethics complaint against Republican State Reps. Elliott Engen and Walter Hudson.
Engen was arrested last month during a traffic stop in White Bear Lake. He has since been charged with fourth-degree DWI. Hudson was in the car with Engen when the stop occurred, according to a police report. Hudson was not arrested and has not been charged with a crime.
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth has reportedly stripped Hudson and Engen of their committee assignments. Alpha News has contacted the House GOP, Engen, and Hudson to learn more about why they were pulled from their committees.
In the House, ethics complaints are handled by the evenly-divided Ethics Committee. That committee is comprised of two Republicans and two Democrats. State Rep. Greg Davids is the GOP co-char of the committee, and State Rep. Kelly Moller is the DFL co-chair.
At present, the Minnesota House itself is split with 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats. As such, the expulsion or resignation of even one member would have major ramifications.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
