Politics / Government

Andersen, who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1931, has been making news since he was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1948. He had many legislative accomplishments, including sponsoring the bill that required taxpayers to cover the cost of special education programs. A moderate Republican, Andersen served as governor from 1961 to '63 and supported fair housing and government ethics legislation.

Following the lead of his parents, Hall, who was born near Virginia, Minn., became a member of the Communist Party at age 17. He ran for president of the United States four times as the Communist Party candidate. As a young man, Hall was arrested in 1934 for inciting a riot during a Minneapolis Teamsters strike. His activism on behalf of the Communist Party made him a national figure.

Humphrey's impassioned oratory and crusades on behalf of poor and working people defined his reputation as a national and state political figure. A two-term mayor of Minneapolis, Humphrey was one of the most influential members of the U.S. Senate, where he fought for liberal programs for more than 20 years. Humphrey, who served as Lyndon Johnson's vice president, narrowly lost his own presidential bid in 1968 to Richard Nixon.

The outspoken Jourdain, who lives near Bemidji, held the powerful post of tribal chairman for three decades until he was ousted in a close election in 1990. During his tenure, Jourdain fought with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and FBI, but courted Democratic politicians for funding that could improve the quality of life on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Jourdain amassed considerable power on and off the reservation, and he had no shortage of critics.

Kellogg, a Rochester, Minn., lawyer, represented the federal government in antitrust litigation against Standard Oil Company and other big corporations. He was a one-term Republican U.S. senator from Minnesota. President Calvin Coolidge chose Kellogg to join his Cabinet in 1925 as secretary of state. Kellogg also served as U.S. ambassador to Britain and won the Nobel Peace Prize.

An outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War, the Watkins, Minn., native had a profound impact on the 1968 presidential election. Even though fellow Minnesotan Hubert Humphrey was serving as Lyndon Johnson's vice president, McCarthy challenged Johnson for the Democratic Party nomination. Johnson eventually bowed out of the competition. Ultimately, Richard Nixon defeated Humphrey in the general election.

As President Jimmy Carter's vice president, the Ceylon, Minn., native urged his former U.S. Senate colleagues to support labor-law reform and an increase in the minimum wage. Mondale's liberal credentials were established during a 12-year career in the Senate. After winning the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, Mondale chose a woman, then-U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro of New York, to be his running mate, but lost the general election.

The Minneapolis native was revered during the Depression because he used his gubernatorial powers to look out for the interests of poor and working-class people. In 1930, the firebrand was elected to the first of three terms as governor. A leader of the Farmer-Labor Party, Olson got the Legislature to adopt a state income tax, a state employee pension plan and a moratorium on farm foreclosures. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 44.

Now 92, Stassen in 1938 was elected the state's youngest governor. A moderate Republican, he campaigned on a reform platform and was a progressive on social issues. With the onset of World War II, Stassen resigned during his third term as governor to serve in the Navy and was an aide to Adm. William Halsey. He sought the Republican nomination for president in 1948, but lost to Thomas Dewey. In the last half of the century, Stassen has been a perennial presidential candidate.

Volstead, a former mayor of Granite Falls and Yellow Medicine County prosecutor, emerged on the national stage when he drafted the Volstead Act to enforce Prohibition. The legislation passed in October 1919 and was designed to block the manufacture, sale and transportation of intoxicating beverages under the 18th Amendment. Volstead was elected to 10 terms in the U.S. House, but was defeated in 1922.