Lyle J. Koenen (born June 16, 1956) 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 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 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 Represen ...

(DFL), he represented District 17, which included portions of Chippewa, Kandiyohi,

Renville Renville may refer to: ;Places In the United States: * Renville, Minnesota * Renville County, Minnesota * Renville County, North Dakota ;People *Joseph Renville *Gabriel Renville Gabriel Renville (April 1825 – August 26, 1892), also known a ...

, and

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

counties in the southwestern part of the state.

Early life, education, and career

Koenen attended Maynard High School in Maynard, then Willmar Technical College in Willmar, earning his A.A. in agriculture. He has worked as a

dairy farmer Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

and was also a milk truck and school bus driver. He has co-chaired the Chippewa County National Farmers Union since 1996.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Koenen was first elected in 2002, and was reelected four times. He chaired the House Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs subcommittee for the Veterans Affairs Division. On May 21, 2011, he was one of two DFL representatives who voted with a majority of Republicans to send a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage to a 2012 referendum.

Minnesota Senate

Koenen was elected to the Senate in a special election in 2012 to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Gary Kubly. He was sworn in on April 18, 2012. Koenen ran for reelection to the newly drawn District 17 in 2012, defeating incumbent Willmar Republican

Joseph Gimse Joseph R. "Joe" Gimse (born July 31, 1957) is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 13, which included portions of Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, Kandiyohi, Pope County, Minnesota, Pope and Ste ...

. He lost

reelection The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...

References

External links

Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Lyle Koenen

Project Votesmart - Rep. Lyle Koenen Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenen, Lyle 1956 births Living people People from Chippewa County, Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party Minnesota state senators 21st-century American legislators 21st-century Minnesota politicians