Erin Koegel (born April 6, 1982) is an American politician serving 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 ...

since 2017. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota affiliated with the national Democratic Party. The party was formed by a merger between the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minneso ...

(DFL), Koegel represents District 39A in the northern

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, which includes the city of Fridley and parts of Anoka and Ramsey Counties.

Early life, education, and career

Koegel was born in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, and grew up in Maple Grove, Minnesota. She graduated from Osseo High School in 2000, and from the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota System. UMD offers 17 bachelor's degrees in 87 majors, graduate programs in 24 different fields, a tw ...

with a Bachelor of Applied Science in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and a minor in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, and later a master's degree in advocacy and political leadership. Koegel completed an internship with the

Duluth City Council The Duluth City Council is the legislative branch of the government of Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Su ...

and worked as a page at the Minnesota House of Representatives. She works as a volunteer coordinator at Community Action Partnership of Ramsey County, and previously was executive director of the nonprofit Health Care for All.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Koegel was elected to the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and has been reelected every two years since. She first ran after three-term DFL incumbent Jerry Newton announced he would run for a seat in the

Minnesota State 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 hel ...

. Koegel chairs the Sustainable Infrastructure Policy Committee and sits on the Commerce Finance and Policy and Transportation Finance and Policy Committees. From 2021 to 2022, she served as vice chair of the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.

Health care and child care

Koegel supports extending the eligibility of

MinnesotaCare MinnesotaCare is a public health insurance program in the United States, U.S. state of Minnesota for low-income individuals and families who lack employee-sponsored health insurance and who do not qualify for Medical Assistance (Minnesota’s Medic ...

, a public health care program for low-income families. She also supports increasing investments in child care, preschool, and financial assistance for those attending college. Koegel has spoken publicly about the difficulties of being a parent to a newborn child while in the legislature, including the lack of maternity or parental leave. Koegel authored legislation to increase consumer protections and place limits on settlement-payment deals, requiring judges to scrutinize the payments. She was part of an advisory council on how to spend funding through Minnesota's opioid epidemic response law.

Transportation

Koegel supported legislation to increase the state's gas tax to keep up with inflation and increase dedicated funding for roads and bridges. She has also supported other tax increases to fund transportation needs, including a 75-cent fee on home deliveries as an alternative to the gas tax. She sponsored bipartisan legislation to create speciality license plates commemorating the

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and a bill that would allow teen drivers to take driver's education courses online. She authored legislation that would restrict wake boats within 200 feet of shore, and prohibit them in small lakes and waterways.

Electoral history

Personal life

Koegel is married to her spouse, Steve, and resides in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota. Her daughter was born in 2018. On August 22, 2021, Koegel accidentally severed her middle, ring, and little fingers on her left hand in a

power saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when mankind learned how to ...

accident. She was airlifted to the North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale, where she underwent emergency surgery. Surgeons were able to reattach her middle finger, but her ring and pinky fingers were lost. A

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

page set up to support Koegel's recovery surpassed its goal of $5,000, but attracted the notice of officials when it appeared that many contributions came from lobbyists. Minnesota state law prohibits gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers worth more than $5. The GoFundMe page announced that gifts from lobbyists would be returned immediately.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koegel, Erin Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Minnesota Politicians from Duluth, Minnesota People from Maple Grove, Minnesota People from Spring Lake Park, Minnesota 1982 births 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature