Dan Schoen (born December 7, 1974) is an American 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 h ...

. 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 Repr ...

(DFL), he represented District 54 in the southeastern

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 sta ...

metropolitan area. He is also a former member of 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 ...

, where he represented District 54A.

Early life, education, and career

Schoen graduated from MACCRAY High School in 1993. He attended St. John's University in Collegeville and

Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis Community and Technical College (Minneapolis College) is a public community college in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It has one of the most diverse student populations in the state and enrolls nearly 11,100 credit students annually. Minneap ...

, where he graduated from the paramedic program. He attended Ridgewater College in

Willmar, Minnesota Willmar is a city in, and the county seat of, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,015 at the 2020 census. History Agricultural expansion and the establishment of Willmar as a division point on the Great Northern ...

, graduating with an A.A. in

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...

. He is a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

and

paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...

Minnesota Legislature

Schoen was first elected to the

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and was re-elected in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

. After Katie Sieben announced she would not seek re-election to the

, Schoen announced his intentions to run. He went on to win in the 2016 election. Schoen resigned from the Senate on December 15, 2017 following a sexual harassment scandal.

Sexual harassment allegations

On November 8, 2017, ''

MinnPost ''MinnPost'' is a nonprofit online newspaper in Minneapolis, founded in 2007, with a focus on Minnesota news. Funding ''MinnPosts initial funding of $850,000 came from four families: John and Sage Cowles, Lee Lynch and Terry Saario, Joel and ...

'' published an online story in which three women, including state Rep.

Erin Maye Quade Erin Maye Quade (born March 12, 1986) is an American politician from the state of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party, she served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019. She was the DFL-endorse ...

, accused Schoen of sexually harassing them. In response, Schoen said that the allegations were false or taken out of context. Political leaders from both parties called for Schoen to resign, including Governor

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to ...

, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, and Senate Minority Leader

Tom Bakk Thomas M. Bakk ( ; born June 8, 1954) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. Currently independent and a former member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Bakk represents District 3, which includes portio ...

. On November 14, 2017, a Minnesota Senate staff member, Ellen Anderson, alleged that Schoen had sent her an unsolicited photo of male genitalia via

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...

in 2015. After initially denying the incidents, but concluding he could no longer serve his district effectively, Schoen resigned on December 15, 2017.

Personal life

Schoen has two children and resides in

St. Paul Park, Minnesota St. Paul Park is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,279 at the 2010 census. It is on the east bank of the Mississippi River, five miles (8 km) downstream from St. Paul. Geography According to the U ...

References

External links

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoen, Dan 1974 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party Minnesota state senators 21st-century American politicians Paramedics American municipal police officers People from Washington County, Minnesota