Linda Higgins is a Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 politician and a member of 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...

 who represents District 58, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

 in Hennepin County

Hennepin County, Minnesota

Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2010 the population was 1,152,425. Its county seat is Minneapolis. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live...

, which is in the Twin Cities

Twin cities

Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...

 metropolitan area. A Democrat

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...

, she was first elected to the Senate in 1996, and was re-elected in 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2010. She served as a majority whip from 2001 to 2006.

Higgins is currently a member of the Senate's Capital Investment, Environment and Natural Resources, and Health and Human Services committees. She chaired the Senate State and Local Government Operations Committee from 2003 to 2007. Her special legislative concerns include housing, early childhood issues, health, communities of color, and the environment.

Higgins is a writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, having worked as an editor for "The Physician and Sportsmedicine" medical journal for McGraw-Hill

McGraw-Hill

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...

 Healthcare Publications, and was also an assistant to Minneapolis City Council

Minneapolis City Council

The Minneapolis City Council is the governing body of the City of Minneapolis. The City Council is composed of 13 single member districts, called wards. Barbara Johnson is president of the council. The council is dominated by members of the DFL Party with 12 members. The Green Party has one member...

 member Joe Biernat. She attended Titonka High School in Titonka, Iowa

Titonka, Iowa

Titonka is a city in Kossuth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 584 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Titonka is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

, then went on to Iowa Lakes Community College, where she received her A.A. degree, and to Mankato State College in Mankato

Mankato, Minnesota

Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...

, where she received her B.S.

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 degree in Teaching.

Higgins has served on the boards of the Cedar-Riverside

Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis

The Cedar-Riverside, also referred to as the West Bank, is a neighborhood within Minneapolis, Minnesota. The boundaries of the neighborhood are the Mississippi River to the north and east, Interstate 94 to the south, and Hiawatha Avenue and Interstate 35W to the west...

 People's Center, the Council on Black Minnesotans, the Greater Lake Country Food Bank, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Minneapolis Institute of Arts

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a fine art museum located in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on a campus that covers nearly 8 acres , formerly Morrison Park...

. She is also a member of the Saint Anthony Falls

Saint Anthony Falls

Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located northeast of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. The natural falls was replaced by a concrete overflow spillway after it partially collapsed in 1869...

 Heritage Board.She served on the executive committee of the Council of State Governments. She is a former member of the Minneapolis City Charter Commission.

External links

• Senator Higgins Web Page
• Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Senator Linda Higgins
• Project Vote Smart - Senator Linda Higgins Profile
• Linda Higgins Campaign Web Site