Florian W. Chmielewski Sr. (February 10, 1927 – April 23, 2024) was an American musician and politician. He played as an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

player with the Chmielewski Family Funtime Band, performing

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

music throughout the midwest. Chmielewski was elected to the Senate in 1970, becoming chair of the employment committee in 1981. During a special session in 1987, Chmielewski was elected to serve as president, due to the absence of State Sen. Jerome M. Hughes, who both preceded and succeeded Chmielewski in the position. In 1996, Chmielewski was placed on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

after pleading guilty to a

gross misdemeanor In United States law, a gross misdemeanor is a crime which is more serious than a regular misdemeanor, but is still classified as a minor crime, as opposed to serious crimes. Such crimes may include petty theft, simple assault or driving under ...

for providing family members state

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling * Long-distance operator * Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths * Long-distance trail *European long-d ...

access codes, allowing them to make phone calls at state expense. Chmielewski appeared on the weekly television show, ''Chmielewski Funtime'', for over 35 years. He continued performing with his band up until his death on April 23, 2024, at the age of 97.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chmielewski, Florian 1927 births 2024 deaths Presidents of the Minnesota Senate Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Musicians from Minnesota People from Pine County, Minnesota University of Minnesota alumni 20th-century American legislators 20th-century Minnesota politicians 20th-century accordionists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century accordionists 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American male musicians Polka musicians