Bud Heidgerken (September 27, 1943) is a

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

politician and a former member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

. A Republican, he represented District 13A, which includes portions of Kandiyohi,

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

and Stearns counties in the west central part of the state. Heidgerken was first elected in 2002, and was re-elected in 2004 and 2006. He did not seek re-election in 2008, and was succeeded by Rep. Paul Anderson of Starbuck. Heidgerken graduated from St. John's Prep School in

St. Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orth ...

and

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. In the fall of 2023, it ...

in St. Cloud. He taught school in the Brooten School System and, later, the

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

-Brooten- Elrosa School System for 21 years. He and his wife also owned Charlie's Cafe in

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...

for many years. He was a member of the Freeport City Council and the Freeport School Board, and also served as president of the Stearns Electric Trust Board. Heidgerken made news in the 2008 legislative session by being one of six house Republicans to vote to override Governor

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...

's veto of a transportation bill. The bill increased money spent on transportation by raising the gas tax. Due to dissatisfaction in the Republican caucus with this vote, he and the other Republicans who voted to override the veto had their leadership positions taken away. He decided to retire after the session, partially due to the controversy surrounding this vote. Other house members who voted to override faced caucus challenges or decided to retire, as well.

References

External links

Minnesota Public Radio - Votetracker: Bud Heidgerken
voting record *''Follow the Money'' - Bud Heidgerken
200620042002
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Heidgerken, Bud Living people 1943 births People from Stearns County, Minnesota College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University alumni St. Cloud State University alumni Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature