Kathleen Anne Blatz (born July 22, 1954) is a former

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 ...

judge and legislator. She served as the interim chair of the

Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority U.S. Bank Stadium is an enclosed stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the indoor stadium opened in 2016 and is the home of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football ...

, which governs the

U.S. Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium is an enclosed stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the indoor stadium opened in 2016 and is the home of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Footbal ...

Early life and education

Blatz was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

to Kaye and Jerome Blatz. She attended high school at the

Academy of Holy Angels Academy of Holy Angels (AHA) is a private Catholic high school in Richfield, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the nationally recognized college-preparatory school educates more than 600 students ...

Richfield, Minnesota Richfield is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota. An inner-ring suburb of Minneapolis, Richfield is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and Fort Snelling to the east, Bloomington to the south, ...

, and received her

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

''summa cum laude'' from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. Blatz received degrees from the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, a public university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Pa ...

and the University of Minnesota School of Social Work.

Career

Blatz 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 1979 to 1994. When elected, she was the youngest ever female Minnesota legislator. She was appointed a

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

district court judge in 1994, an associate justice of the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

on November 1, 1996, and Chief Justice on January 29, 1998. She retired from the court on January 10, 2006, and was succeeded as Chief Justice by

Russell A. Anderson Russell A. Anderson (May 28, 1942 – September 15, 2020) was an attorney-at-law, attorney who served as Chief Justice of Minnesota, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He served as an associate justice of the court from September 1, 199 ...

Personal life

Blatz is the daughter of the late Mary Kathleen "Kaye" McMahon Blatz (1926–1996) and Jerome Blatz (1923–2009). She was the second of nine children. On June 2, 1984, in Hennepin County, she married Thomas R. Berkelman, a Minnesota State Legislator from 1977 to 1983. They had three sons and divorced around 2000. She married Wheelock Whitney Jr., a businessman and politician, in 2005. He died in 2016.Peter Cox and MPR News staff
"Wheelock Whitney dies at 89"
''

MPR News Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR has ...

'', May 20, 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blatz, Kathleen A. 1954 births Living people Chief justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court Lawyers from Minneapolis Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota state court judges Politicians from Minneapolis University of Minnesota Law School alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Whitney family Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States Women state legislators in Minnesota 20th-century American women judges 20th-century Minnesota state court judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American judges 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature 20th-century American women politicians