Jeanne E. Poppe (born July 6, 1957) 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 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 ...

. 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), she represented District 27B, which includes all or portions of Dodge,

Freeborn "Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne (1614–1657), a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means born free, rather than in slavery or bondage or vassalage. Lilbu ...

, and

Mower A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reape ...

counties in the southeastern part of the state. She is an educator and counselor at

Riverland Community College Riverland Community College is a public community college with three campuses in southeastern Minnesota: Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna. Founded in 1940, Riverland offers a variety of educational programs and courses to over 4,900 students an ...

, with campuses in

Albert Lea Albert Lea may refer to: *Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S. * Albert Lea Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Miller Lea Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with th ...

, Austin and Owatonna.

Early life, education, and career

Poppe was born in Houston, Minnesota and attended Houston High School where she graduated in 1975. She graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in River Falls, receiving her

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Sociology and Criminal Justice in 1980. She earned her

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in Counseling from

Winona State University Winona State University (Winona) is a public university in Winona, Minnesota. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the first no ...

in Winona in 1985. She has been a college counselor at Riverland Community College since 1999, also serving as president of the Minnesota State College Faculty Counselors Association from 2002-2004. Prior to her work as a counselor, she was the college's director of admissions from 1995–1999, and the women's center director from 1993-1995. She was a workforce career counselor for the Private Industry Council from 1989–1993, and a senior citizens' paralegal for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services from 1984-1989. Active in her local community through the years, Poppe served on the Austin City Council (Ward 2) from 1994 to 2002, and was secretary of the Austin Human Rights Commission from 2002 to 2004. She has been a trustee of the Austin Area Foundation since 2003, and a member of the Austin Area League of Women Voters since 1987.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Elections

Poppe ran unsuccessfully in 2002 against Rep. Jeff Anderson. She was first elected in 2004 defeating Anderson in a close race. She was re-elected in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014, 2016, and 2018 before being unseated in 2020.

Committee assignments

For the 89th Minnesota Legislature, Poppe is a part of: *Agriculture Finance Committee (DFL Lead) *Agriculture Policy Committee *Capital Investment Committee *Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee *Ways and Means Committee For the

88th Minnesota Legislature The Eighty-eighth Minnesota Legislature was the legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota from January 8, 2013, to January 5, 2015. It was composed of the Minnesota Senate, Senate and the Minnesota House of Representatives, House of Representati ...

, Poppe was part of: *Agriculture Policy (Chair) Committee *Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance Committee *Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee *Ways and Means Committee For the

87th Minnesota Legislature The eighty-seventh Minnesota Legislature was the legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota from January 4, 2011, to January 7, 2013. It was composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives, based on the results of the 2010 Senate electio ...

, Poppe was part of: *Agriculture and Rural Development Policy and Finance Committee *Higher Education Policy and Finance Committee *Redistricting Committee For the

86th Minnesota Legislature The eighty-sixth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 6, 2009 and ended upon the beginning of the next Legislature in January 2011. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate were elected during the 2006 General Election, and the 134 membe ...

, Poppe was part of: *Finance Subcommittee: Higher Education and Workforce Development Finance and Policy Division *Bioscience and Workforce Development Policy and Oversight Division Committee *Finance Subcommittee: State Government Finance Division *State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Committee For the

85th Minnesota Legislature The eighty-fifth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 3, 2007. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate and the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were all elected during the General Election on November 7, 2006. Sess ...

, Poppe was part of: *Finance Committee *Finance Subcommittee: Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs Finance Division *Finance Subcommittee: Education Finance and Economic Competitiveness Finance Division: Higher Education and Work Force Development Policy and Finance Division *Finance Subcommittee: State Government Finance Division *Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee For the

84th Minnesota Legislature The eighty-fourth Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 4, 2005. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate were elected during the General Election on November 5, 2002, while the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were el ...

, Poppe was part of: *Environment and Natural Resources Committee *Local Government Committee *Rules and Legislative Administration Committee

Tenure

Poppe was sworn in on January 4, 2005. She served in the 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th, 90th, and 91st Minnesota Legislatures.

Personal life

Poppe resides in

Austin, Minnesota Austin is a city in, and the county seat of, Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and has two artificial lakes, East Side Lake and Mill Po ...

, and was married to Bob Vilt who died July 13, 2017. They have three children, Lydia, Casey, Skyler.

References

External links

Rep. Poppe Web Page

Project Votesmart - Rep. Jeanne Poppe Profile

Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Jeanne Poppe

Jeanne Poppe Campaign Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poppe, Jeanne 1957 births Living people People from Houston, Minnesota American Lutherans Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota city council members Women state legislators in Minnesota University of Wisconsin–River Falls alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from Austin, Minnesota