Mary Kelly Kunesh ( ; born November 20, 1960) is an American politician and member of the Minnesota State Senate. 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), she represents District 41, which includes parts of the counties of

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

, Hennepin, and Anoka, and the cities of Fridley, Spring Lake Park, Columbia Heights, Hilltop, New Brighton, and St. Anthony.

Early life, education, and career

Kunesh was born in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and raised in

Sartell, Minnesota Sartell is a city in Benton and Stearns Counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota that straddles the Mississippi River. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 19,351 at the 2020 census, making it St. Clo ...

. Her mother is an enrolled member of the

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe The Standing Rock Reservation ( lkt, Íŋyaŋ Woslál Háŋ) lies across the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic " Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lakota Oyate and the Ihunktuwona and Pabaks ...

, and her father a former St. Cloud City Attorney, and later Assistant Stearns County Attorney. She graduated from Cathedral High School in

St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stear ...

. She attended

St. Catherine University St. Catherine University (St. Kate's) is a private Catholic university in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was established as one of the first institutions of higher learning specifically for women in the Midwest and was known as the College of St. C ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education in 1995, and later St. Cloud State University, graduating with a Master of Arts in information media in 2010. Kunesh was a member and chair of the New Brighton Parks, Recreation and Environmental Commission and was a candidate for the New Brighton City Council in 2013. She works as a library media specialist for

Robbinsdale Area Schools Robbinsdale School District 281 is a school district centered in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, in the northwestern suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The district includes all of Robbinsdale, Crystal, and New Hope, and parts of Brooklyn Center, ...

, including Robbinsdale Middle School.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Kunesh was first elected to 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 ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, succeeding DFL incumbent Carolyn Laine. She is one out of four Native American members of 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 ...

in her first term. After Carolyn Laine retired from the Senate in 2020, Kunesh campaigned for the Senate seat of the district.

Minnesota State Senate

In 2020, Kunesh was elected into the Minnesota State Senate winning the general election against Lucia Vogel with over 66% of the vote. She is currently serving on the following committees: * Education Finance and Policy * Redistricting * Ranking Minority Chair of Mining and Forestry Policy

Personal life

Kunesh resides in

New Brighton, Minnesota New Brighton is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. It is a suburb of the Twin Cities. The population was 22,753 at the 2020 census. History In the mid 18th century, Mdewakanton Dakota tribes lived in the vicinity of New Brighto ...

. She has three children.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunesh-Podein, Mary Kelly 1960 births Living people Native American state legislators in Minnesota Native American women in politics People from Sartell, Minnesota Politicians from St. Cloud, Minnesota Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota St. Catherine University alumni St. Cloud State University alumni American librarians American women librarians Women state legislators in Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives People from New Brighton, Minnesota 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians