Kitty Rhoades (née Richie) (April 7, 1951 – June 18, 2016) was an American politician. She served as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, where she represented the 30th district, before serving as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Early life and education

Born in Hudson, Wisconsin, Rhoades received a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls and a master's degree in education from Illinois State University.

Career

Rhoades worked as an educator, small business owner, and consultant. In 1998, she was elected to the

as a Republican. In the 1990s, Rhoades proposed the term ''Winnesota'' to describe Wisconsin's

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

and

Pierce Pierce may refer to: Places Canada * Pierce Range, a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia United States * Pierce, Colorado * Pierce, Idaho * Pierce, Illinois * Pierce, Kentucky * Pierce, Nebraska * Pierce, Texas * Pierce, We ...

Counties, which border

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 ...

and are within the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

's Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Area. According to Rhoades, "I still call my area Winnesota. We are in Wisconsin, but it sure is hard to remember it." Rhoades retired from the state Assembly in 2010, and took a position with the administration of then-Governor Scott Walker in 2011 as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health Services. In February 2013, following the resignation of Dennis Smith, she was appointed Secretary.

Death

Rhoades died on June 18, 2016, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

from pneumonia.Kitty (Richie) Rhoades-obituary
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References

External links

* ''Follow the Money'' - Kitty Rhoades
200820062004200220001998
campaign contributions
Campaign 2008
campaign contributions at ''Wisconsin Democracy Campaign'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhoades, Kitty 1951 births 2016 deaths People from Hudson, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–River Falls alumni Illinois State University alumni Businesspeople from Wisconsin State cabinet secretaries of Wisconsin Women state legislators in Wisconsin 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American women Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly