Calvin R. "Cal" Larson is a U.S. politician, serving as a Senator in the Minnesota Senate

Minnesota Senate

The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...

, from 1987 - 2006.

Background

Born in Glyndon, Minnesota

Glyndon, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,049 people, 359 households, and 283 families residing in the city. The population density was 693.5 people per square mile . There were 403 housing units at an average density of 266.4 per square mile...

, Larson graduated from Badger High School in 1948 and earned a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Concordia College, Moorhead

Concordia College, Moorhead

Concordia College is a private liberal arts school located in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and offers bachelors' degrees in the arts and music, as well as a master's degree in education. The college was founded by Norwegian...

 in Political Science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 and Business Administration. Larson served in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. He resides in Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,138 at the 2010 census.-Today:...

, with his wife, Loretta, and has two children: Laura and Pedr. Larson is a Lutheran.

Political career

Larson was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives

Minnesota House of Representatives

The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...

 in 1967, with a Nonpartisan Election-Conservative Caucus party affiliation. He served district 55 for three terms, ending in 1972. He continued in the House from 1973 to 1974 representing district 11A.

Following an absence from the state legislature from 1975–1986, Larson was elected as State Senator for district 10 in 1986, as an Independent Republican. He continued to fill this seat in the Senate until 2006, but by the 1996 election had changed his party affiliation to Republican.

Electoral history

2006 Minnesota State Senate District 10

• Cal Larson (R), 14191 votes, 44.71%
• Dan Skogen
  Dan Skogen
  Dan Skogen is a Minnesotan politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 10, which includes all or portions of Becker, Otter Tail and Wadena counties in the northwestern part of the state....
  
   (DFL), 17530 votes, 55.23%
• Write-In, 18 votes, 0.06%

2002 Minnesota State Senate District 10

• Cal Larson (R), 19357 votes, 59.57%
• Karl L. Hanson (DFL), 13111 votes, 40.35%
• Write-In, 24 votes, 0.07%

Preceded By	Minnesota Senate District 10	Succeeded by
Collin Peterson Collin Peterson Collin Clark Peterson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1991, and the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and is the dean of the Minnesota congressional delegation.The district, Minnesota's largest and most rural...	1987–2006	Dan Skogen Dan Skogen Dan Skogen is a Minnesotan politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 10, which includes all or portions of Becker, Otter Tail and Wadena counties in the northwestern part of the state....