Melissa Halvorson Wiklund (born 1962) 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 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), she represents District 51 in the southern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Bloomington and Richfield. Wiklund's legislative priorities include education, health care, and job creation.

Early life, education, and career

Wiklund was raised 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 graduated from Kennedy High School. Before her election to the Senate, Wiklund served on the Bloomington School Board for three years. She was elected to the school board in 2009 and later became its chair. On the school board, Wiklund chaired the Legislative and Superintendent Evaluation Committees and participated on the Labor Management Committee. She attended 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 ...

, graduating with a B.E.E. and a degree in interior design in 1991.

Personal life

Wiklund is married to her husband, Craig. They have two children and reside in Bloomington.

Minnesota Senate

Wiklund was first elected to the

in 2012. In the 2021 legislative session, she served on the Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee and the Technology and Reform Policy Committee. Wiklund was also the ranking minority member on the Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee.https://www.senate.mn/members/member_bio.html?mem_id=1209>

Past committees

*90th Legislative Session (2017–2018): E-12 Finance, Health and Human Services Finance and Policy, Local Government. *89th Legislative Session (2015–2016): Finance: E-12 Policy and Budget Division, Health, Human Services and Housing, State and Local Government. *88th Legislative Session (2013–2014): Education, Finance: E-12 Division, Health, Human Services and Housing.

Legislative action

Wiklund coauthored: SF 472, The Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act (Introduced and first reading on January 24, 2019). This bill would establish an insulin assistance program; establish an insulin assistance account in the special revenue fund; require drug manufacturers to pay an insulin product fee; provide for emergency refills; and appropriate money. SF 820
Great Start for All Minnesota Children Act
This bill aims to address opportunity gaps and help the state's youngest residents. It would provide additional funding for early childhood education and development, child care, prenatal care and home visiting. SF 1708
Spoken Language Health Care Interpreter Registry
This bill would create a registry of interpreters that pass a test in English on health care terms and interpreter ethics and standards to minimize errors and restore patient confidence. In addition to registered interpreters, the bill includes a tier called "certified interpreters". To get this designation on the registry, interpreters must have a certification in health care interpreting from an organization specified by th
Department of Health

Electoral history

References

External links

Senator Melissa Halvorson Wiklund
''official Minnesota Senate website''
Senator Melissa Halvorson Wiklund
''official campaign website'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiklund, Melissa Halvorson Living people Democratic Party Minnesota state senators 1962 births People from Bloomington, Minnesota University of Minnesota alumni Women state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Minnesota politicians