Former MN DFL MP Rick Nolan has died

DULUTH, Minn. – Former northern Minnesota Rep. Rick Nolan has died at age 80.

The Minnesota DFL Party announced Friday morning that Nolan had died.

Brainerd native Rep. Nolan served as a member of the 8th Congressional District from 2013 to 2019.

There was initially no information on his cause of death.

“Rick Nolan was a champion of the Northland who fought fiercely to protect working people from corporate interests. From Ely to Duluth, he was an ambassador of the DFL belief: “We all do better when we all do better.” Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who knew and loved this dedicated public servant,” DFL wrote -Chairman Ken Martin.

Minnesota State Senator Grant Hauschild, a DFL staffer who covers part of the same region where Nolan served, shared the following statement on Facebook on Friday.

“Congressman Rick Nolan was one of a kind. No one fought harder for the place they loved than he did. His eternal optimism was contagious and he always spent his capital on developing future leaders. Northern Minnesota will miss our champion as he joins the other political titans from our region in heaven. RIP Rick,” Hauschild wrote.

Nolan began his career in the 1960s as a social studies teacher in Royalton, Minnesota.

In 1969 he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he served until 1975. At this point, he began representing Minnesota's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

After taking a break from politics to work for the US Export Corporation and the Minnesota World Trade Center in St. Paul, Nolan reentered politics in 2012 when he first ran for Minnesota's 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives was chosen.

Nolan defeated Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack in 2012, who had unseated former DFL Rep. James Obsertar in a stunning upset two years earlier.

Nolan faced several challenges during his tenure in Minnesota's 8th District, including from businessman Stewart Mills.

Nolan was Lori Swanson's choice for lieutenant governor when she ran for governor of Minnesota in 2018. Ultimately, they lost in the primary to current Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan.

Nolan had since retired from politics.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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