Dean L. Urdahl (born August 18, 1949) is an American politician who served in 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 ...

from 2003 to 2025. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

, Urdahl represented District 16A in central

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 ...

, which includes the cities of Litchfield and

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Renville County, and parts of Chippewa, Kandiyohi, and Meeker Counties. He is a retired teacher and coach.

Early life, education, and career

Urdahl grew up in

Litchfield, Minnesota Litchfield is a city in and the county seat of Meeker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,624 at the 2020 census. History Immigration to the county was slow until the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railroad, later cal ...

. His roots run deep in the area: his ancestors helped settle Litchfield Township in 1856. He graduated from Litchfield High School 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 ...

, earning a B.S. in social studies. He got his start in politics working on

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

John Zwach John Matthew Zwach Sr. (February 8, 1907 – November 11, 1990) was an American farmer, rural school teacher, and politician. Zwach was most notably a U.S. Representative from Minnesota, serving four terms from 1967 to 1975. He also served f ...

's campaign staff in 1970. Urdahl was an American history teacher and coach in the New London- Spicer School District from 1971 to 2006. He has served on the Minnesota Education in Agriculture Leadership Council, the Minnesota Commission on Public Service Reform, and the Minnesota State Board of Nursing. In July 2008, he was appointed as the Minnesota representative to the

Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (ALBC) was the congressionally created, 14-member federal commission focused on planning and commemorating the 200th birthday of the United States' Abraham Lincoln, 16th president on February 12, 2009 ...

. In 2012 Urdahl was named co-chair of the Minnesota Civil War Sesquicentennial Task Force. Urdahl has written a book about former members of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

baseball team and another about famous Minnesotans. He has written four books of historical fiction set in Minnesota during the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

. Urdahl also wrote two historical novels about Minnesota's soldiers in the American Civil War, concentrating on the war's western theater. Urdahl married Karen Frantti in 1971. They have three sons and 11 grandchildren. He is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Minnesota House of Representatives

Urdahl ran as the

Independent-Republican Party The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, and the current chairman is Alex Plechash. S ...

candidate for the

District 15B in 1992 and 1994, losing to incumbent Roger Cooper. In 1996, he ran in the Republican primary for District 15B, losing to Drew Hultgren. Urdahl was elected to the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

in 2002, after incumbent

Gary Kubly Gary W. Kubly (November 12, 1943 – March 2, 2012) was a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 20, which includes portions of Big Stone, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, McLeod, M ...

retired, and was reelected every two years until his retirement in 2024. In 2011-12 and 2015-16 he chaired the Legacy Division, which oversees funds raised by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution. During the 2017-18 legislative session, Urdahl chaired the Capital Investment Committee. He later served as the minority lead on the Capital Investment Committee and sat on the Education Policy Committee. Urdahl was instrumental in obtaining funding for the Minnesota State Capitol restoration and was named to serve on the Capitol Restoration Commission his committee established.

Electoral history

References

External links

Rep. Urdahl Web Page

Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Dean Urdahl

Project Votesmart - Rep. Dean Urdahl Profile

Dean Urdahl Campaign Web Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urdahl, Dean 1949 births Living people People from Meeker County, Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Lutherans from Minnesota American male writers 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature