Politics | Page 4

Rolvaag, Karl Fritjof (1913–1990)

In his youth a hobo, a radical, a soldier, and a scholar, Karl Rolvaag became an adroit politician—a key builder of the Democratic Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party. He served eight years as lieutenant governor and four years, 1963–1967, as Minnesota’s thirty-first governor.

Minnesota state seal

The Minnesota state seal design chosen by a State Emblems Redesign Commission in December of 2023.

Minnesota state flag

The design chosen by a State Emblems Redesign Commission in December of 2023.

Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA)

In 1985, Minnesota state legislators passed the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA) to address shortcomings in the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. The federal law had been enacted in 1978 in response to the alarming number of Native American children being removed from their families and placed in non-Native foster and adoptive homes. MIFPA gave Minnesota tribes more authority in all child custody decisions involving Native children.

State Senator Mary Kunesh and Fond du Lac Chairman Kevin DuPuis

Kevin DuPuis, chairman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, speaks to Minnesota state senators on February 7, 2023, at the Minnesota Senate Building in St. Paul. State Senator Mary Kunesh (Standing Rock Sioux descendent, right), a Democrat from New Brighton, was the chief author of a bill to amend the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA). Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer. Used with the permission of Michelle Griffith.

Patricia Staine (right) and Minnesota Representative Alicia Kozlowski

Patricia Staine (right) testifies before the Minnesota House of Representatives on February 14, 2023, during a hearing on a bill to amend the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA). Representative Alicia Kozlowski (DFL-Duluth) sits at left. Copyright Minnesota House of Representatives; photo by Catherine Davis. Used with the permission of House Public Information Services.

State Representatives Keeler, Kozlowski, and Becker-Finn during House debate on MIFPA

Minnesota Representative Heather Keeler (DFL-Moorhead, standing at right) speaks about MIFPA on the floor of the Minnesota House on March 9, 2023. Representatives Alicia Kozlowski (DFL-Duluth, standing at center) and Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL-Roseville, standing at left) listen. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer. Used with the permission of Michelle Griffith.

Alternate color version of the Minnesota state seal

Alternate color version of the Minnesota state seal, before 1971 and ca. 1960s.

Gale Family Library

Karl Rolvaag, 1940

Karl Rolvaag