Earl W. Renneke is a former Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate

Minnesota Senate

The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...

 from southern Minnesota. He was first elected in a March 25, 1969, special election to fill the vacancy that arose due to the unexpected death of Senator Harold Popp in a traffic accident on February 21, 1969. He was re-elected in 1970, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1986 and 1990. He represented the old districts 15 and 23 and, later, District 35, which included all or portions of Blue Earth

Blue Earth County, Minnesota

Blue Earth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 64,013. Its county seat is Mankato.Blue Earth County is part of the Mankato–North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, Carver

Carver County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 70,205 people, 24,356 households, and 18,778 families residing in the county. The population density was 197 people per square mile . There were 24,883 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...

, LeSueur

Le Sueur County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,426 people, 9,630 households, and 6,923 families residing in the county. The population density was 57 people per square mile . There were 10,858 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...

, McLeod

McLeod County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,898 people, 13,449 households, and 9,427 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile . There were 14,087 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

, Nicollet

Nicollet County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 29,771 people, 10,642 households, and 7,311 families residing in the county. The population density was 66 people per square mile . There were 11,240 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...

, Scott

Scott County, Minnesota

Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was organized in 1853 and named in honor of General Winfield Scott. As of 2010, the population was 129,928. Its county seat is Shakopee...

 and Sibley

Sibley County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,356 people, 5,772 households, and 4,086 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile . There were 6,024 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...

 counties, changing somewhat through redistricting

Redistricting

Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...

 in 1970 and 1980.

From the town of Le Sueur

Le Sueur, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,922 people, 1,545 households, and 1,025 families residing in the city. The population density was 879.0 people per square mile . There were 1,589 housing units at an average density of 356.1 per square mile...

, Renneke, a farmer, earned a reputation as a strong advocate for agriculture and preservation of natural resources. His special legislative concerns included these issues, as well as corrections and education. He was a member of the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources, Commerce, Corrections & Commitments, Elections & Reapportionment, Finance, Governmental Operations, Health & Welfare, Labor Relations, Local & Urban Government, Public Employees & Pensions, Rules & Administration, and Veterans & General Legislation committees, and of various other committee incarnations and subcommittees during his 24 years in office. He originally allied with the Conservative Caucus

Caucus

A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...

 at a time when the legislature was still officially nonpartisan

Nonpartisan

In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....

, and later identified as a Republican

Republican Party of Minnesota

The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...

 when party affiliation became required of candidates.

Renneke did not seek re-election in 1992. After leaving the legislature, he spearheaded an effort on behalf of the Sibley County Historical Society to obtain funding from the state for restoration of the 1879 county courthouse and development of the Joseph R. Brown

Joseph R. Brown

Joseph Renshaw Brown buried: Brown Cemetery, Henderson, Minnesota.-Biography:He was born in born in Harford County, Maryland, on January 5, 1805 and was married to Susan Freniere , a member of the Sisseton tribe of Dakota Indians.Served: Territorial Council 1854-55 ; Territorial House 1857 ;...

 Interpretive Center. Brown was an early state pioneer, entrepreneur and politician, and the founder of the town of Henderson

Henderson, Minnesota

Henderson is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 886 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

.

In 1999, Governor Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura

James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...

 appointed Renneke to serve on the Minnesota Compensation Council, which determines the salaries of the state’s elected and appointed officials. In 2005, he was appointed by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources to serve on the Environment & Natural Resources Trust Fund Advisory Task Force. He currently serves as chairman of the campaign committee for Senator Dennis Frederickson

Dennis Frederickson

Dennis R. Frederickson is a Republican politician from Minnesota and a former Minnesota State Senator. He was first elected in 1980 when he ran for the seat being vacated by Senator Carl Jensen, who was appointed to the Minnesota Tax Court and did not seek re-election...

 of New Ulm

New Ulm, Minnesota

New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,522 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brown County....

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