Joshua Heintzeman (born December 5, 1977) is a Minnesotan politician serving in 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 ...

since 2015. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

, Heintzeman represents District 6B, which includes the city of Brainerd and parts 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 central

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 ...

Early life, education, and career

Heintzeman was born in

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

, and his family moved to

Motley, Minnesota Motley is a city in Cass and Morrison counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 680 at the 2020 census. The main part of Motley is located within Morrison County; only a minor part of the city extends into Cass County The Ca ...

, when he was an infant. He graduated from

Central Lakes College Central Lakes College is a public community college with campuses in Brainerd and Staples, Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. The college was formed from the merger of three different colleges: Braine ...

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with ...

, graduating with an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

in business. Heintzeman served as the Thirty Lakes Watershed District Manager and is a member of the Brainerd Chamber of Commerce. He also chaired the

Human Rights Commission and the Crow Wing County Republicans. He runs a family-owned custom wood interiors business.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Heintzeman was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2014, and has been reelected every two years since. He defeated four-term DFL incumbent John Ward. Heintzeman serves as the minority lead for the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee and sits on the Legacy Finance and Ways and Means Committees. From 2019 to 2020, he served as an assistant minority leader, and has served on the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.

Environment and natural resources

As co-chair of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, Heintzeman advocated using lottery money proceeds for local public works projects such as wastewater treatment plants, and supported using funding to build a National Loon Center in Crosslake, Minnesota. He authored legislation to fund a field test to detect

chronic wasting disease Chronic wasting disease (CWD), sometimes called zombie deer disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting deer. TSEs are a family of diseases thought to be caused by misfolded proteins called prions and include similar dis ...

in live deer, and has supported a government buyout of deer farms in the state. Heintzeman offered an amendment to a 2020 bonding bill that would block efforts to challenge the

Enbridge Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. ...

Line 3 pipeline The Line 3 pipeline is an oil pipeline owned by the Canadian multinational Enbridge. Operating since 1968, it runs from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin, United States. Concerns about the safety of the pipeline led Enbridge ...

project. He has been critical of Governor

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz ( ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician and retired educator. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Walz ...

's efforts to use rule-making to adopt stricter car emission standards. Heintzeman has opposed state efforts to regulate PFAS chemicals, arguing action should be addressed at the federal level.

Other political positions

Heintzeman said he believes private businesses should have the right to refuse services to same-sex couples, citing religious objections as a reason to deny service. He has voiced concerns over legalizing sports betting in Minnesota due to gambling addiction. Heintzeman authored legislation to exempt military pensions from state income taxes. He has been critical of the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

. Heintzeman signed on to a letter calling on 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

to stop participating in research on "aborted human fetal organs". In 2020, he was targeted by activist Ben Dorr, who posted a video clip confronting Heintzeman with his six-year-old son for allegedly "voting to kill babies".

Electoral history

Personal life

Heintzeman married his wife, Keri, on June 26, 1999. They have six children and reside in

Nisswa, Minnesota Nisswa ( ) is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,971 at the 2010 census. Nisswa is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area, near Gull Lake. History Smiley Township was founded in 1900, bu ...

. Heintzeman and his wife homeschool their children.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heintzeman, Josh 1977 births Living people People from Nisswa, Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians People from Motley, Minnesota