An Austin native is on the campaign trail to promoting plan he says will rebuild Minnesota’s road infrastructure without debt.

Activist Leslie Davis and his lieutenant governor running mate Gregor Soderberg filed last week to challenge Gov. Mark Dayton in the Aug. 12 primary election.

Soderberg will focus his campaign efforts on promoting solar roads — a new idea for replacing paved roads with solar cells that’s recently been circulating on the Internet and around the world.

If elected, Soderberg’s chief goal would be to bring solar roads to Minnesota.

“It’s going to change the face of Minnesota,” Soderberg said.

His plan is to have state regulated banks create capital to fund the solar roads without taxing for it.

“A part of the plan is to do it without having to tax or borrow,” he said.

Instead, Soderberg and Davis would push for legislation requiring state regulated banks to create capital to fund the roads, which he said is similar to how banks create capital through lending.

Soderberg has long been an advocate for changes to the monetary system. He’s argued the United States Constitution gave the power to create money to our federal government

Davis admitted it’s a tough concept for some to understand and buy into, but he promised it could be transformative.

“If we can get this done, we’re going to transform Minnesota and the rest of the nation will be watching,” he said.

Soderberg lives in Austin and works for Fairway Outdoor Advertising. He previously worked for KAUS radio and stations in Rochester for several years. He is a veteran and Purple Heart recipient.

Along with Dayton and Davis, Bill Dahn is also running for the DFL ticket with lieutenant governor running mate James Vigliotti.