Kathleen J. "Kathy" Sheran (born May 18, 1947) 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 former member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, 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 State legislature (Unite ...

. 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), she represented District 19, which included portions of Blue Earth, Le Sueur, and Nicollet counties in the south central part of the state.

Early life, education, and career

Sheran is the daughter of Robert Sheran, who is a former chief justice and

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. She graduated from Convent of the Visitation School in

Mendota Heights Mendota Heights ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is a first-ring southern suburb of the Twin Cities. The population was 11,744 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has ...

in 1965, then attended the

College of Saint Teresa The College of Saint Teresa was a Catholic women's college in Winona, Minnesota, United States. Previously a women's seminary, it became a college in 1907 and was operated by the Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota until its clos ...

in Winona, receiving her B.S. in Nursing. She later earned her

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

degree at Mankato State University (now called Minnesota State University). Sheran is a

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a healthcare professional who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized ...

by profession and former assistant professor of nursing at

Minnesota State University Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 145,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

. Sheran has been active in Mankato city government for many years. She served briefly as mayor, and was a member of the city council for 16 years, during which time she was council president and

Mayor Pro Tem ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to 'for the time being' in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' ('placeholder'). The phrase is ...

. She is a former member of the city's Civil Service Commission, the Economic Development Authority, the Housing Redevelopment Authority, and the Human Rights Commission.

Minnesota Senate

Sheran was first elected to the Senate in 2006, and was re-elected in 2010 and 2012. She served as a

majority whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

during the 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 bienniums. Her special legislative concerns include health care, education, tax policy, agriculture, transportation, and the environment. She did not seek re-election in 2016.

Personal life

Sheran has served on various state and local boards and committees. She was a member of the Minnesota Governor's Judicial Selection Commission and the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Immanuel-St. Joseph's Hospital in

, which is an owned affiliate of the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

. She is also co-chair of Generations of Care, a community partnership in support of Immanuel-St. Joseph's Heart and Cancer Centers. She also hosts "Community Conversations," a

Public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

show in the Mankato area. She has also been honored as a Woman of Distinction by YWCA Mankato.

References

External links

Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Senator Kathy SheranProject Vote Smart - Senator Kathy Sheran Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheran, Kathleen 1947 births Living people College of Saint Teresa alumni Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni Minnesota State University, Mankato faculty Democratic Party Minnesota state senators People from Mankato, Minnesota Politicians from Mankato, Minnesota Women state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century American women politicians American women academics 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature