Dean Urdahl

Dean L. Urdahl (born August 18, 1949) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 18A, which includes parts of McLeod, Meeker, and Wright counties in the central part of the state just west of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. He is also a retired teacher and coach.[1]

Dean Urdahl
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 18A district
18B (2003–2013)
Assumed office
January 7, 2003
Preceded byredrawn district
Personal details
Born (1949-08-18) August 18, 1949
Political partyRepublican Party of Minnesota
Spouse(s)Karen
Children3
ResidenceGrove City, Minnesota
Alma materSt. Cloud State University
Occupationeducator, author, legislator

Early life, education, and career

Urdahl graduated from Litchfield High School in Litchfield. His roots run deep in the area: his ancestors helped settle Litchfield Township in 1856. He attended St. Cloud State University, earning a B.S. in social studies.[1] He got his start in politics working on U.S. Representative John Zwach's campaign staff in 1970.[2]

Urdahl was an American history teacher and coach in the New London-Spicer School District from 1971 to 2006. He has served on the Minnesota Education in Agriculture Leadership Council, the Minnesota Commission on Public Service Reform, and on the Minnesota State Board of Nursing. In July 2008, he was appointed as the Minnesota representative to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. In 2012 Urdahl was named co-chair of the Minnesota Civil War Sesquicentennial Task Force. From 2010 to 2012 he chaired the Legacy Division in the Minnesota House. Urdahl was instrumental in obtaining funding for the Minnesota state capitol restoration and was named to serve on the Capitol Restoration Commission his committee established. In 2017-18, he served as chair of the House Capital Investment Committee.[1][3]

Also an author, Urdahl has written a book about former members of the Minnesota Twins baseball team[4] and another about famous Minnesotans.[5] He has written four books of historical fiction set in Minnesota during the Dakota War of 1862.[2][6][7] Urdahl also wrote two historical novels about Minnesota's soldiers in the American Civil War, concentrating on the war's western theater.

Urdahl's major legislative accomplishments include initiating the investment tax credit for livestock, lockdown drills for school security and the restoration/renovation of the Capitol. Numerous bonding proposals and bills relative to his district also are credited to Urdahl.

Urdahl married Karen Frantti in 1971. They have three sons and 11 grandchildren.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Urdahl was first elected in 2002, and has been reelected every two years since.

References
  1. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=10792
  2. http://deanurdahl.com/about.php
  3. http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=38738
  4. Dean Urdahl: "Touching Bases with Our Memories: The Players Who Made the Minnesota Twins, 1961 to 2001", ISBN 0-87839-162-2
  5. Dean Urdahl: "Lives Lived Large: Minnesotans in the Public Eye," ISBN 978-0-87839-164-6
  6. Dean Urdahl: "Retribution," ISBN 978-0-87839-281-0
  7. Dean Urdahl: "Uprising," ISBN 978-0-87839-247-6"


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