Calvin R. "Cal" Larson (born August 10, 1930) is an American politician who served as a member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

from 1967 to 1974 and

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

from 1987 to 2006.

Early life and education

Born in

Glyndon, Minnesota Glyndon is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,306 as of the 2020 census. History Glyndon was platted in 1872 when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office has been in operation in Glyndon since 1 ...

, Larson graduated from Badger High School in 1948 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College. Larson then served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Career

Larson was first elected to the

in 1967, with a Nonpartisan Election–Conservative Caucus party affiliation. He served district 55 for three terms, ending in 1972. He continued in the House from 1973 to 1974 representing district 11A. Following an absence from the state legislature from 1975 to 1986, Larson was elected as State Senator for district 10 in 1986, as an Independent Republican. He continued to fill this seat in the Senate until 2006, but by the 1996 election had changed his party affiliation to Republican.

Personal life

Larson resides in

Fergus Falls, Minnesota Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,119 at the 2020 census. History The falls from which the city gets part of its name were discovered by Joe Whitford (a Scotti ...

with his wife, Loretta. They have two children. Larson is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Electoral history

2006 Minnesota State Senate District 10 *Cal Larson (R), 14191 votes, 44.71% *

Dan Skogen Dan Skogen (born December 14, 1957) is a Minnesotan politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 10, which includes all or portions of Becker, Otter Tail and Wadena counties in the northwestern part of the s ...

(DFL), 17530 votes, 55.23% *Write-In, 18 votes, 0.06% 2002 Minnesota State Senate District 10 *Cal Larson (R), 19357 votes, 59.57% * Karl L. Hanson (DFL), 13111 votes, 40.35% *Write-In, 24 votes, 0.07%

References

, - , - 1930 births Living people People from Glyndon, Minnesota Military personnel from Minnesota American Lutherans Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota Independents Minnesota Republicans Minnesota state senators People from Fergus Falls, Minnesota Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) alumni 21st-century American politicians {{Minnesota-politician-stub