John Ward (born August 2, 1950) is a

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

politician and former 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 ...

. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Repr ...

, he represented District 10A, which included portions of

Crow Wing County Crow Wing County is a County (United States), county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 66,123. Its county seat is Brainerd, Minnesota, Brainerd. The coun ...

in the north central part of the state. He is also a retired teacher and coach.

Early life, education, and career

Ward graduated from

Proctor High School Proctor High School is a 912 secondary school in Proctor, Minnesota, United States that was established in 1912. Situated in the Duluth–Superior area, Proctor High School and the connected A.I. Jedlicka Middle School serves about 1,000 student ...

in Proctor, then went on to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, receiving his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in Physical Education and Health, and also certification in coaching and driver's education, in 1973. He later returned to U.M.D., earning his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Learning Disabilities in 1982. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in Superior in 1984, earning his E.B.D. teaching certificate in Emotional Behavior Disorders. Ward worked as an adult basic education instructor at Northeast Regional Corrections Center from 1974–1979, as director of alternative education for Independent School District 704 in Proctor from 1979–1987, and as an emotional behavior disorder instructor for the Brainerd School System from 1987–2006. He has also been a property and casualty insurance agent for EPIC Insurance since 1995. He was a member of the Proctor City Council from 1982–1984, and served as Proctor's mayor from 1984–1987.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Elections

Ward was first elected in 2006, and was re-elected in 2008, 2010, 2012. Ward lost re-election in 2014 to Josh Heintzeman.

References

External links

Project Votesmart – Rep. John Ward Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, John 1950 births Living people People from Crow Wing County, Minnesota People from Brainerd, Minnesota People from Proctor, Minnesota Politicians from Duluth, Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians