Todd Lippert (born January 26, 1977) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

politician and former pastor who served as a 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 2019 to 2022. 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), he represented District 20B which includes the city of Northfield and portions of Le Sueur and

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

County in south-central

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 ...

Early life and education

Lippert was born in Larchwood, Iowa. He attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or 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 organized int ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in music performance. He later attended the

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (United) is an ecumenical graduate school, historically rooted in the United Church of Christ and located in St. Paul, Minnesota. The school was formed in 1962 with the merger of Mission House Semi ...

, graduating with a Master of Divinity in theology.

Career

Lippert served as a pastor in local churches from 2003 to February 2020. He served as a senior minister at the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

, from 2012 to 2020.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Lippert was elected to the

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, winning the seat left open by former representative David Bly, who announced his retirement in February 2018. Lippert stated that he became active in politics through his work as a pastor, getting involved in faith-based groups such as ISAIAH Minnesota which led to him wanting to run for office. During the 2021–2022 session, Lippert served as an assistant majority leader. In January 2022, Lippert announced he would not seek re-election for a third term, stating that he would like to continue working to help Democrats connect with rural communities. While in the legislature, Lippert authored many bills relating to rural communities, small farmers, soil and water health, and combating climate change. Alongside Republican Mike Goggin, Lippert advocated for a "Farm to School" program to get local produce into school lunches. He proposed a ban on

chlorpyrifos Chlorpyrifos (CPS), also known as chlorpyrifos ethyl, is an organophosphate pesticide that has been used on crops, animals, in buildings, and in other settings, to kill several pests, including insects and worms. It acts on the nervous systems ...

, the most widely used pesticide for soybean farms in Minnesota, and which can cause brain damage in children. In 2022, he authored a bill creating a carbon trading program alongside Senator Dave Senjem. Lippert also worked with senate republicans to pass a bill that increased the minimum wage of caregivers employed by the state through

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

. 2021–2022 committee assignments: * Agriculture Finance and Policy * Climate and Energy Finance and Policy * Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy * Human Services Finance and Policy: Behavioral Health Policy 2019–2020 committee assignments: * Agriculture and Food Finance and Policy * Environment and Natural Resources Policy * Labor * Long Term Care * State Government Finance

Electoral Results

Personal life

Lippert and his wife, Sara, have three children. They reside in Northfield, Minnesota.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lippert, Todd 1977 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives People from Northfield, Minnesota University of Iowa alumni 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature