Jim Oberstar, Iron Range's longtime congressman, dies at 79 [View all]
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
Former Rep. Jim Oberstar, Minnesota’s longest-serving congressman, died in his sleep early Saturday at the age of 79.
The veteran Democrat served 18 terms from 1975 to 2011 — 36 of the 48-year congressional career as a representative from northern Minnesota.
“I’m just shocked,” said longtime aide, Ken Hasskamp from his Baxter, Minn., home. “History will record him as the quintessential congressman — the complete package.”
The son of an underground miner from Chisholm, Oberstar started his career in the early 1960s, when he was a clerk on the Rivers and Harbors Committee, a precursor of the Transportation panel he would later lead. He was elected in 1974 after longtime DFLer John Blatnik retired.
Read more: http://www.startribune.com/local/257797051.html
More reports:
Duluth News Tribune
AP
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