Roger M. Cooper (born November 8, 1944) 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 A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

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 ...

from southwestern Minnesota. First elected in 1986 in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's "firestorm" that swept through the region, giving Democrats unprecedented control of southwestern Minnesota for the next several election cycles, Cooper served five terms. He was re-elected in 1988, 1990, 1992 and 1994. He represented the old District 21B and, later, District 15B, which included all or portions of Chippewa, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker,

Renville Renville may refer to: Places in the United States * Renville, Minnesota * Renville County, Minnesota * Renville County, North Dakota Renville County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 United ...

, Sibley and

Yellow Medicine Yellow Medicine could refer to two distinct things in the U.S. state of Minnesota: * Yellow Medicine River, a river * Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota Yellow Medicine County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern part of the ...

counties, changing somewhat through

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

in 1990. From the small town of Bird Island, Cooper, a public school history teacher, earned a reputation as a strong advocate for education, farmers and agricultural issues during his time in office. After his service in the legislature concluded, he served on the Minnesota Region 6E Development Commission and, more recently, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Bird Island City Council. He was subsequently elected to that position in November 2006. While in the legislature, Cooper was a member of the House Agriculture, Health & Human Services, Transportation & Transit, Local Government & Metropolitan Affairs, and Economic Development & Governmental Operations committees, and of various sub-committees relevant to each area. In 2007, 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 decenn ...

renamed an incentive program for Minnesota's

emergency service Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety, security, and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while oth ...

personnel in honor of Cooper, who is undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer, and former Minnesota State Senator Dallas Sams, who died in 2007 after a long battle with brain cancer. The program is now known as the Cooper/Sams Volunteer Ambulance Program. Both Cooper and Sams invested a great deal of time into ensuring the passage of the original incentive program through the legislature in 1993.

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"Rep. Roger Cooper...Teacher produces laws to benefit rural Minnesota"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Roger 1944 births Living people People from Bird Island, Minnesota Rockford University alumni Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni Minnesota city council members Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives American people imprisoned in Iran 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature