Ben Bakeberg

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Ben Bakeberg
Member of the MinnesotaHouseofRepresentatives
from the 54B district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Website Government website Campaign website

Ben Bakeberg (born July 15, 1978) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Bakeberg represents District 54B south of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the city of Prior Lake and parts of Scott County. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life, education and career

Bakeberg received his Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from the University of Northwestern - St. Paul, and his Master's in science in education leadership from Minnesota State University Mankato. [1]

He worked as the principal of Jordan Middle School in Jordan, Minnesota. [3]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Bakeberg was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022. [1] He first ran after redistricting and after five-term Republican incumbent Tony Albright announced he would not seek reelection and resigned to take a lobbying job. [4]

Bakeberg serves on the Education Finance and Education Policy Committees. [1]

Political positions

Bakeberg's 2024 campaign slogan is "strong families, strong communities, and strong schools." [5]

Bakeberg opposed legislation that would require Minnesota high schools to offer an ethnic studies course, saying: "Diversity makes us stronger. Learning different perspectives makes each of us, just simply at a basic level, better human beings. However, local school districts across the state are already doing this, and they don't need us to mandate." [6]

Bakeberg, who has overseen a school lunchroom as a teacher and principal, said a bill guaranteeing a daily breakfast and lunch to all students "does not ensure that every student will be full" and would not eliminate school lunch debt because some children may choose to get extra meals: "Kids are saying, 'I need an extra entrée, I need a la carte' and kids continue to be hungry because of the federal lunch guidelines." [7]

During a committee hearing on Minnesota's literacy requirements, Bakeberg said that whole language and balanced literacy programs are "quite possibly one of the greatest frauds in education in the past 40 years". He added, "We cannot abandon our children for those interested in protecting their pockets—money—and protecting systems that are more comfortable for adults than they are for kids." [8]

Electoral history

2022 Minnesota State House - District 54B [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ben Bakeberg 12,317 60.70
Democratic (DFL) Brendan Van Alstyne7,96239.24
Write-in 140.07
Total votes20,293 100.0
Republican hold
2024 Minnesota State House - District 54B [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ben Bakeberg (incumbent) 15,807 61.94
Democratic (DFL) Jean Lee9,69637.99
Write-in 180.07
Total votes25,521 100.00
Republican hold

Personal life

Bakeberg lives in Jordan, Minnesota, with his wife, Lindy, and has three children. [1]

Related Research Articles

Mindy Greiling is a former Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represented the former districts 54B and 54A in Ramsey County, part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. District 54B included parts of Roseville and Little Canada, while District 54A included portions of Roseville, St. Anthony, and Lauderdale. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Nelson (Minnesota politician)</span> American politician

Michael V. Nelson is an American politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represents District 38A, which includes the cities of Brooklyn Park and Osseo in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Anderson (Minnesota state representative)</span> American politician

Paul H. Anderson is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2009. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Anderson represents District 12A in central Minnesota, which includes the cities of Morris and Benson and portions of Big Stone, Pope, Stearns, Stevens and Swift Counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Daudt</span> American politician

Kurt Louis Daudt is an American politician and former Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He is also a former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented District 27B, which included portions of Anoka, Isanti, and Sherburne counties in east-central Minnesota, north of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. He lives on his family farm in Crown, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peggy Bennett</span> American politician

Peggy Bennett is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2015. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Bennett represents District 23A in southern Minnesota, which includes the city of Albert Lea and parts of Faribault, Freeborn, Steele and Waseca Counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Heintzeman</span> American politician

Joshua Heintzeman is a Minnesotan politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2015. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Heintzeman represents District 6B, which includes the city of Brainerd and parts of Crow Wing County in central Minnesota.

Jeff Backer Jr. is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2015. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Backer represents District 9A in western Minnesota, which includes the city of Fergus Falls, Grant, Traverse, and Wilkin Counties, and parts of Otter Tail County.

Todd Lippert is an American politician and former pastor who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 20B which includes the city of Northfield and portions of Le Sueur and Rice County in south-central Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn</span> American politician

Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Kotyza-Witthuhn represents District 49B in the southwestern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the city of Eden Prairie and other parts of Hennepin County, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Edelson</span> American politician

Heather Edelson is an American politician who is a member of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2024, representing District 50A in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes Edina and parts of Hennepin County. In 2024, she was elected to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners from the 6th district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hodan Hassan</span> American politician

Hodan Hassan is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Hassan represents District 62B, which includes parts of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Hassan served as an assistant majority leader of the House DFL caucus from 2019 to 2020. She announced that she will not seek reelection in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaohly Her</span> American politician

Kaohly Her is a Hmong-American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Her represents District 64A, which includes parts of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Jordan (politician)</span> American politician

Sydney Jordan is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2020. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Jordan represents District 60A, which includes parts of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Keeler</span> American politician

Heather Keeler is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Keeler represents District 4A in northwest Minnesota, including the city of Moorhead and parts of Clay County. Keeler is an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Feist</span> American politician

Sandra Feist is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, (DFL), Feist represents District 41B in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Columbia Heights and New Brighton, and parts of Anoka, Hennepin, and Ramsey Counties.

Jessica "Jess" Hanson is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Hanson represents District 55A in the southern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Burnsville and Savage and parts of Dakota and Scott Counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Reyer</span> American politician

Liz Reyer is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Reyer represents District 52A in the southern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Eagan and Burnsville and parts of Dakota County, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Finke</span> American politician in Minnesota

Leigh Finke is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Finke represents District 66A in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Roseville and Saint Paul, and parts of Ramsey County in Minnesota. She is the first openly transgender member of the Minnesota Legislature.

Pam Altendorf is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Altendorf represents District 20A in southeastern Minnesota, which includes the cities of Red Wing, Lake City and Cannon Falls, and parts of Dakota, Goodhue, and Wabasha Counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethan Cha</span> American politician

Ethan Cha is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Cha represents District 47B in the southeast Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the city of Woodbury and parts of Washington County.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bakeberg, Ben - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  2. "Rep. Ben Bakeberg (54B) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  3. Furst, Randy (August 30, 2021). "Laurie Schmidt, Minnesota Middle School Teacher of the Year in 2020, dies at 57". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  4. Olson, Rochelle (August 3, 2022). "Prior Lake legislator Tony Albright leaves office early for new job". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  5. "Re-Elect Ben Bakeberg | House of Representatives District 54B". Re-Elect Ben Bakeberg | House of Representatives District 54B. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  6. Faircloth, Ryan (March 2, 2023). "Bills would require Minnesota students to take ethnic studies, personal finance classes". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  7. Bakst, Brian (2023-02-09). "As hunger rises in Minnesota, House passes school meals for all bill". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  8. Callaghan, Peter (2023-05-04). "Walz, state lawmakers look to transform how Minnesota kids are taught to read". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  9. "2022 Results for State Representative District 54B". Minnesota Secretary of State . Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  10. "2024 Results for All State Representative Races". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved 18 November 2024.