Roger Jonathon Reinert (born July 22, 1970) is an American politician, mayor of

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, and 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 served in the Minnesota House from 2009 to 2011 and 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 ...

from 2011 to 2017. From 2004 to 2009, Reinert served on the Duluth City Council, where he was elected president twice. Reinert spent 6 years (2011–2016) serving on the Minnesota Senate, where he represented District 7, which included St. Louis County. 2 years prior to this (2009–2010), Reinert served on 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 ...

. Currently, Reinert is a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Reinert is a licensed attorney, owns a consulting firm, and teaches at the College of Saint Scholastica in Duluth.

Early life and education

Reinert was born in

Olivia, Minnesota Olivia is the county seat of Renville County, Minnesota, Renville County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 2,484 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Olivia was platted in 1878, and named for a female station agent n ...

and was raised in

Dawson, Minnesota Dawson is a city in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,466 at the 2020 census. History Dawson was platted in 1884. The city was named for William Dawson, a former mayor of St. Paul, and one of three partners ...

. He is one of seven siblings. Reinert graduated from Dawson-Boyd High School in 1988. He received an Associate of Science at Ridgewater College, a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Secondary Education at the

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. T ...

, and a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Education, Curriculum and Instruction at

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

. In 2014, Reinert attended

Mitchell Hamline School of Law Mitchell Hamline School of Law is a private law school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and offers full- and part-time legal education for its Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. History Mitchell Hamlin ...

in Saint Paul, and graduated with a

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

(J.D.) in 2018. Reinert passed the Bar Examination (MBE) in 2019, and was admitted to practice later that same year.

Career

Reinert began a political career when he was appointed to the

Duluth City Council The Duluth City Council is part of the governing body of the City of Duluth, which is located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The council is part of a Mayor–Council Government The mayor–council government system is a system of local governme ...

on January 12, 2004, filling the seat vacated by

Herb Bergson Herbert William Bergson (September 16, 1956 – February 10, 2022) was an American politician who was the mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, the only person to have served as mayor in both cities. Bergson was elected mayor of ...

, who had been elected mayor. In 2005, after completing Officer Training at

Pensacola Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

in Florida, Reinert was commissioned as a

Selected Reserve The Selected Reserve (also called SELRES, SR, or mistakenly Selective Reserve) are the members of a U.S. military Ready Reserve unit that are enrolled in the Ready Reserve program and the reserve unit that they are attached to. Selected Reserve me ...

(SELRES) Naval Officer for the U.S. Navy Reserves. Shortly thereafter, Reinert was elected as City Council President, serving in 2006 and 2008. During this time, Reinert also worked as an educator at the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

and

Lake Superior College Lake Superior College (LSC) is a public community college in Duluth, Minnesota. The college offers pre-baccalaureate majors for students interested in transferring to 4-year educational institutions as well as more than 90 certificate, diploma an ...

. Following Reinert's second presidential term on the Duluth City Council, he was elected into the

in 2008 for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), and represented Saint Louis County in this position until 2010. He was a member of the House Taxes Committee, and also served on the Finance subcommittees for the Higher Education and Workforce Development Finance and Policy Division, the Public Safety Finance Division, and the Transportation Finance and Policy Division. Following this, he was elected into the

Minnesota State 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 ...

under the DFL representing Saint Louis County (District 7). Reinert was re-elected in 2012, defeating challenger Tyler Verry, and re-elected again in 2014. He did not seek re-election in 2016. In 2018 and 2019 Reinert was deployed to Afghanistan as a military public affairs officer. Upon his return in 2019, opened a legal and consulting firm, Reinert & Associates, where he acts as an attorney and managing partner. In March of 2020, amidst the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reinert was deployed to Italy as part of an anti-virus crisis communications team. Reinert served as the Interim Executive Director at the

Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center complex located in Duluth, Minnesota. It was home to the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog hockey team from 1966 to 2010. The DECC is located on th ...

(DECC) from June 2020–May 2021. In November of 2021, the Secretary of the Navy awarded the

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

to Reinert due to his work during his COVID deployment in 2020. As of 2022, Reinert is still actively serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He is currently the Executive Officer of the Navy Public Affairs Element Headquarters (NPASE). Reinert is the Director of Public Relations/Media for th
Duluth Air and Aviation Expo
and teaches at the College of St. Scholastica. Reinert won the 2023 election for mayor of

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, after incumbent mayor

Emily Larson Emily Larson (born 1973) is an American politician and the current mayor of Duluth, Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Larson was elected Mayor of Duluth in November 2015 and inaugurated on January 4th, 20 ...

conceded the win. Reinert was sworn in as mayor on January 2, 2024.

Electoral history

References

External links

Project Votesmart: Senator Roger Reinert Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinert, Roger 1970 births Living people People from Olivia, Minnesota American people of German descent Methodists from Minnesota Politicians from Duluth, Minnesota Minnesota city council members Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians Mayors of Duluth, Minnesota