Gordon Backlund (born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and former engineer who served as a member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the 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 State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

from 1985 to 1986.

Early life and education

Backlund was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

. He graduated from Two Harbors High School in

Two Harbors, Minnesota Two Harbors is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Minnesota, United States, along the shore of Lake Superior. The population was 3,633 at the 2020 census. Minnesota State Highway 61 serves as a main route in Two Harbors. Gooseberry ...

. Backlund received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and his

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Career

Backlund worked for

Collins Radio Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Compa ...

Company in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

. He served in the

in 1985 and 1986 and was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. In 1989, Backlund served on the Fridley School Board.

Personal life

Backlund lived in

Fridley, Minnesota Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 29,590 at the 2020 census. Fridley was incorporated in 1949 as a village, and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area as ...

. Backlund and his wife, Linda, had two children. His son, Mark, died in January 2008, at age 29, after a traffic accident. Mark was tasered by

Minnesota State Patrol The Minnesota State Patrol is the primary state patrol agency for Minnesota and serves as the de facto state police for the state. While Minnesota State Patrol troopers have full powers of arrest throughout the state, their primary function is traf ...

troopers after being "uncooperative and combative." State troopers were cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident. His brother-in-law,

Daniel Knuth Daniel J. Knuth (July 3, 1945 – October 5, 2020) was an American politician, educator, and environmental consultant. Early life and education Knuth was born in Mabel, Minnesota and graduated from Mabel High School. He received his bachelor ...

, and his niece,

Kate Knuth Kate Knuth (born May 15, 1981) is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 50B from 2007 to 2013. She was a Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party candidate for mayor of Minneapolis ...

, also served in the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

.Fridley Public Schools District Bulletin, Fridley, Minnesota, December 2013, vol. 48, issue 1, pg.6, School board member named to Fridley Hall of Fame
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Notes

1940 births Living people People from Fridley, Minnesota Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota American electrical engineers University of Iowa alumni University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni School board members in Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives {{Minnesota-politician-stub