Brian Rude is a Wisconsin politician and businessman.

Born in Viroqua, Wisconsin

Viroqua, Wisconsin

Viroqua is the county seat of Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,079 at the 2010 census. The city is located within the Town of Viroqua.-History:...

, Rude graduated from Luther College

Luther College (Iowa)

Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...

. Prior to being elected to the Wisconsin State Legislature, he worked at Trane

Trane

Trane Inc. is a subsidiary of Ingersoll Rand and is the successor company to the American Standard Companies. It is a global provider of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems and building management systems and controls under the Trane and American Standard brand names...

. He was elected first to the Wisconsin State Assembly

Wisconsin State Assembly

The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

 in 1982 and then the Wisconsin State Senate

Wisconsin State Senate

The Wisconsin Senate, the powers of which are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly...

in 1984 where he was the President of the Senate. Since 2000, Rude has been working with Dairyland Power Coop.