Rodney Dwight Grams (February 4, 1948 – October 8, 2013) was an American politician and television news anchor who served in both the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
and the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. A local news anchor, Grams became well-known for working at
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...
station
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetw ...
from 1982 until 1991. He was a member of the
Republican Party.
Grams was born on a farm on
Princeton, Minnesota
Princeton is a city in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Mille Lacs and Sherburne County, Minnesota, Sherburne counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the junction of the Rum River and its West branch. It is 50 miles north of Minneapolis and 30 m ...
, and worked at several other news stations throughout the
Midwest and
Great Plains before serving as KMSP's senior news anchor. After retiring from television, he launched a successful bid for Congress in
Minnesota's 6th congressional district against embattled
Democratic incumbent
Gerry Sikorski in
1992. He served one term, opting to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican
David Durenberger in 1994. He won the
1994 Senate election and was defeated for reelection by
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to ...
in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
.
Grams sought election to his old Senate seat in
2006, but dropped out before the Republican primary. He also ran again for election to the House in
Minnesota's 8th congressional district
Minnesota's 8th congressional district covers the northeastern part of Minnesota. It is anchored by Duluth, the state's fourth-largest city. It also includes most of the Mesabi & Vermilion iron ranges, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in th ...
in
2006 as the Republican-endorsed candidate but lost to incumbent Democrat
Jim Oberstar
James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented nor ...
.
Early life
Grams was born on a farm in
Princeton, Minnesota
Princeton is a city in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Mille Lacs and Sherburne County, Minnesota, Sherburne counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the junction of the Rum River and its West branch. It is 50 miles north of Minneapolis and 30 m ...
. He attended
Brown Institute (1966–68),
Anoka-Ramsey Community College (1970–72), and
Carroll College (1974–75).
Grams spent 23 years in television and radio broadcasting before launching a career in politics. From 1982 to 1991 he was the senior news anchor at
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetw ...
in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Before that, he worked as a news anchor/producer for
KFBB-TV
KFBB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Great Falls, Montana, United States, affiliated with ABC, Fox and MyNetworkTV. Owned by the Cowles Company, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Old Havre Highway in Black ...
in
Great Falls, Montana;
WSAU-TV in
Wausau, Wisconsin
Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, an ...
; and
WIFR-TV in
Rockford, Illinois. Before entering broadcasting, Grams worked at an engineering consulting firm for seven years. In 1985, he formed Sun Ridge Builders, a Twin Cities construction and residential development company, serving as its president and CEO. He was involved in architectural design and the use of solar energy in residential homes.
Early political career
Grams launched his political career by winning the 1992 Republican nomination in
Minnesota's 6th congressional district. He defeated Democratic incumbent
Gerry Sikorski in the general election. During the campaign, Grams benefited from high name recognition in the district—from years as news anchor at
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the Fox network to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetw ...
—and Sikorski's involvement in the
House banking scandal
The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the US House of Representatives allowed its members to overdraw their House checking accounts without the risk of being penalized by the House bank, which was actually a clea ...
. He served in the
103rd Congress
The 103rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 19 ...
as a member of the House of Representatives, and in the
104th,
105th, and
106th congresses as a member of the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
.
U.S. Senate
After
David Durenberger announced he would not seek reelection, Grams surprised many by announcing, just months into his first term in the U.S. House, that he would run for the Senate. Grams faced opposition for the Republican endorsement from State Senator
Gen Olson,
Bert McKasy (Durenberger's former chief of staff), and
Doug McFarland
Douglas Dale McFarland (born July 18, 1946) is a professor emeritus at Hamline University School of Law, a Minnesota politician, and an author.
Biography and Titles
He was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He recei ...
. During the party endorsement process, the Grams campaign closely aligned itself with supporters of
Allen Quist, who was challenging incumbent Governor
Arne Carlson
Arne Helge Carlson (born September 24, 1934) is an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of Minnesota. A Republican, Carlson's viewpoints are considered to be moderate. He first won election to the governors office in 1990. Carlso ...
for reelection in the 1994
gubernatorial race. Weeks before the state Republican convention, McFarland dropped out of the Senate race after endorsing Quist for governor and joining his ticket as Quist's running mate.
After numerous ballots at the convention in St. Paul, Grams won the Republican endorsement over Olson and McKasy. He also won the Republican primary against
Arne Carlson's Lieutenant Governor
Joanell Dyrstad, who had been replaced as his running mate by State Senator
Joanne Benson. In
the general election against Democratic Farmer Labor candidate
Ann Wynia and
Independence Party candidate
Dean Barkley
Dean Malcolm Barkley (born August 31, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who briefly served as a United States Senator from Minnesota from 2002 to 2003 as a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota. The founder and chair of the ...
, Grams won, 49% to 44%.
Grams ran for reelection in 2000, losing to
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to ...
. During the campaign, Grams's wife Christine Gunhus was revealed to have written anonymous disparaging emails about Grams's potential Democratic rival
Mike Ciresi
Michael "Mike" V. Ciresi ( ) is a prominent trial attorney and was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate for the United States Senate from Minnesota. He dropped out on March 10, 2008. Ciresi gained his public reputation by litigating seve ...
from her home computer. She received a fine and suspended sentence for violating political advertising regulations. The Grams campaign also ran a commercial during the campaign featuring Grams's mother, Audrey Grams, that ended with her saying, "Uffda, vote for Rod."
Post-Senate career
After his 2000 reelection defeat, Grams went back into private business and in 2004 became the owner of three radio stations in
Little Falls, Minnesota. He attempted a political comeback in
the 2006 U.S. Senate campaign. He sought the GOP nomination for his former Senate seat, facing
Mark Kennedy and
Gil Gutknecht
Gilbert William Gutknecht Jr. (born March 20, 1951) is an American politician. Gutknecht was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives first elected in 1994 to represent Minnesota's 1st congressional district. Gutknec ...
. After a poor showing early in the endorsement process, Grams dropped his Senate candidacy and ran in the
2006 U.S. House election, challenging the incumbent
Jim Oberstar
James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented nor ...
in
Minnesota's 8th congressional district
Minnesota's 8th congressional district covers the northeastern part of Minnesota. It is anchored by Duluth, the state's fourth-largest city. It also includes most of the Mesabi & Vermilion iron ranges, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in th ...
. Oberstar defeated Grams handily.
Grams remained active in politics and interested in running for public office. In 2008, he considered challenging incumbent
Norm Coleman for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination but was too busy in his private life to make a run, saying, "And my wife (Chris) would have killed me if I would have, because of some things that we're doing."
It also became unclear whether Grams would run as a Republican. In an interview, he expressed disappointment at the perceived failings of the party, going as far as to wonder whether he could still call himself a Republican or vote for Republican candidates.
Grams considered a 2010 run for governor of Minnesota, saying, "I'm so damn unhappy with the Republicans right now ... I'm so unhappy with the candidates that we have I could puke. I wanted to get out there and mix it up." But Grams endorsed Republican
Tom Emmer
Thomas Earl Emmer Jr.Helgeson, Baird, ''Star Tribune'', July 11, 2010. (born March 3, 1961) is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2015. The district includes most of the Twin Cities' far northern ...
in the 2010 campaign for governor. Emmer lost the election to Mark Dayton.
Illness and death
On September 4, 2013, it was announced that Grams had been battling
colon cancer since 2012 and was receiving
hospice care at his home. He died on October 8, 2013, at his home in
Crown, Minnesota, aged 65.
Electoral history
References
Further reading
* The
Senatorial recordsof Rod Grams are available for research use at th
Minnesota Historical Society.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grams, Rod
1948 births
2013 deaths
American Lutherans
American television news anchors
Deaths from cancer in Minnesota
Carroll College (Montana) alumni
Businesspeople from Minnesota
Deaths from colorectal cancer
People from Princeton, Minnesota
Republican Party United States senators from Minnesota
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century Lutherans