Beverly M. Scalze (October 27, 1943 – June 23, 2021) was an American politician who served as a member of the
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the Min ...
and the
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are h ...
. A member of the
Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Repr ...
(DFL), she represented District 42 in the Senate, which included portions of
Ramsey County in the
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 stat ...
metropolitan area.
Early life, education, and career
Scalze graduated from
Lake of the Woods High School in
Baudette
Baudette is a city in, and the county seat of, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,106, and in 2018 the population was estimated at 1,003. Baudette is known as the Walleye Capital of t ...
. She later attended the
College of Visual Arts
The College of Visual Arts (CVA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, was a private, accredited, four-year college of art and design offering a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fine arts, graphic design, illustration, and photography. The fine ...
in
Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and
Century College in
White Bear Lake, receiving her
A.D.
The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...
and
A.A. in art. She was a technician at
3M from 1962 to 1966, and was owner-artist of Scalze's from 1966 to 1996. She was the owner and operator of Hoffman Corner Heating and Air Conditioning in White Bear Lake, beginning in 1996.
Scalze was active in her local community and in state government for many years. From 1979 to 2002, she served as a member of the
Little Canada City Council.
Scalze was the founder and coordinator of the local Multi-Housing Safety Coalition from 1996 to 2002, a member of the board of trustees of the Suburban Area
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...
from 1980 to 1989, president of the Ramsey County League of Local Governments from 1989 to 1990, and vice president of the Little Canada Parent-Teacher Association. She also served as a member of the Ramsey County Riverfront Facilities Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, as a member of the
Minnesota Attorney General
The attorney general of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Thirty individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Keith Ellison, a DFLer.
Election ...
's Task Force on Pharmaceuticals, Medicare and Family Health and Task Force for Information Technology, and as a delegate to the
Rush Line Corridor Task Force.
Minnesota Legislature
Scalze was first
elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2004, and was re-elected in
2006,
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
and
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. She was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and served on the Finance subcommittees for the Capital Investment Finance Division, of which she was vice chair, the Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division, and the Health Care and Human Services Finance Division, and on the State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Subcommittee for the Local Government Division.
In the
2012 Minnesota Senate election, Scalze ran for the seat for District 42 and defeated April King, receiving 55.57% of the vote. Scalze focused on clean water, infrastructure, and local government issues. Scalze served as vice chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee.
She did not seek re-election in 2016.
Personal life
In 1991, Scalze's painting of a
brook trout won the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' annual Trout and Salmon Habitat Stamp Contest.
Scalze died of cancer on June 23, 2021.
References
External links
Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Bev Scalze
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scalze, Bev
1943 births
2021 deaths
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Deaths from cancer in Minnesota
Democratic Party Minnesota state senators
People from Baudette, Minnesota
People from Ramsey County, Minnesota
Women state legislators in Minnesota