Howard D. Olson (August 25, 1937 – November 23, 1996) was a Minnesota politician and a member of the

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 ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Olson was first elected in 1970, and was re-elected in 1972 and 1976. During his first six years, he caucused with the Liberal

Caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

, as the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

was officially

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

until 1976. He represented the old districts 18 and 27, which changed somewhat through

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

in 1972, and included all or portions of Cottonwood,

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and Watonwan counties in the southwestern part of the state. While in the Senate, Olson served on the Agriculture and Natural Resources, Health and Welfare, Local Government, Education, Rules and Administration, Taxes and Tax Laws, and Veterans' Affairs committees. He was also a member of the Natural Resources and Agriculture Subcommittee for Environmental Protection, of the Education subcommittees for Post-Secondary and Higher Education Planning and Coordination, for Special Education in State Institutions, and for Special Programs, and of the Taxes and Tax Laws Subcommittee for Sales and Property Tax. Olson was chair of the General Legislation and Veterans Affairs Committee from 1977 to 1978, and of the General Legislation and Administrative Rules Committee from 1979 to 1980. He also chaired the Natural Resources and Agriculture Subcommittee for Agriculture from 1973 to 1976, and the Education Subcommittee for School Boards and Administration from 1975 to 1976. While in office, his special legislative concerns included agriculture, education, and the environment. Born in the town of Madelia, Olson grew up and lived in St. James, attending St. James High School, from which he graduated in 1955, and Mankato State College in

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

. He was a lifelong

farmer 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 mig ...

in the area.

References

External links

1937 births 1996 deaths People from Watonwan County, Minnesota Democratic Party Minnesota state senators American Lutherans 20th-century American politicians People from St. James, Minnesota Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni 20th-century Lutherans {{Minnesota-politician-stub