Richard A. "Rick" Skindrud (born September 15, 1944) is an American former

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

, farmer, and Republican politician from Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin who served almost ten years as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. When he lost his office, he was then elected as

Sergeant at Arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-a ...

of that body.

Background

Skindrud was born in Mt. Horeb on September 15, 1944; he is married, with 3 children. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

as a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

crew chief from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a truck driver and farmer, and in 1981 was appointed to the Town of Primrose

land use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fo ...

Committee. He was elected to the

Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...

board of supervisors in 1989, and served from 1989 to 1994.

Legislative service

Skindrud was elected to the Assembly in a June 1993

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, and was reelected in 1994–2000, even though ''Madison Magazine'' had in 1996 classified him as a "Lawmaker Who Just Takes Up Space" ("our 'State Capitol Furniture' category"), before losing in 2002 to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Sondy Pope-Roberts Sondy M. Pope (born April 27, 1950) is a retired American nonprofit executive and Democratic politician from Dane County, Wisconsin. She served 20 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 2003 through 2022. She represented the 79th Assembly ...

(who had unsuccessfully challenged Skindrud in 2000). After he left office in 2003, he was elected as Sergeant at Arms of the Assembly by his fellow Republicans, who were in the majority at that time."Richard A. Skindrud: Assembly Sergeant at Arms" ''Wisconsin Blue Book 2003–2004''; p. 86
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References

1944 births Farmers from Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Living people Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Mount Horeb, Wisconsin Politicians from Dane County, Wisconsin American truck drivers People from Primrose, Wisconsin 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Republican-1940s-stub