Andrew Steensma (born September 29, 1942) is a
Minnesota politician, a former member of the
Minnesota House of Representatives from southwestern
Minnesota, and the former mayor of the city of
Luverne.
Steensma was first elected to the Minnesota House in 1986 when he unseated longtime incumbent
Wendell Erickson in the
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's "firestorm" that swept through the region, giving Democrats unprecedented control of southwestern Minnesota for the next several election cycles. He represented the old District 27B and, later, District 21B, which included all or portions of
Lincoln,
Lyon,
Murray,
Nobles,
Pipestone and
Rock counties.
He was re-elected in 1988, 1990 and 1992.
Steensma grew up and farms in the Luverne area. While in the Minnesota Legislature, he earned a reputation as a strong advocate for
farmers
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...
and
agricultural issues. He served on the House Agriculture, Appropriations, Economic Development, Health and Human Services, Transportation and
Transit, and General Legislation committees, and on various sub-committees relevant to each area.
Steensma was elected mayor of Luverne in 2004, and served until January 2011.
The community is located in
Rock County just east of
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He and his wife, Elaine, are the parents of four children.
References
External links
City of Luverne, Minnesota, Web Site
1942 births
Living people
Mayors of places in Minnesota
Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
People from Luverne, Minnesota
Farmers from Minnesota
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