Growe, Joan Ruth
House 1973-74 (District 40A)
Party when first elected: Nonpartisan Election-Democratic-Farmer-Labor Caucus
Counties Served:
Hennepin
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
9/28/1935
Birth Place:
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Birth County:
Hennepin
Birth Country:
United States
Date of Death:
Gender:
Female
Religion:
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
Former Name: Anderson
City of Residence (when first elected):
Minnetonka
Occupation (when first elected):
Former Teacher
EDUCATION
St. Francis Elementary School; Elementary School;
Buffalo High School; Secondary;
St. Cloud State College; B.S.; Teaching, 1956
University of Minnesota; Attended Graduate School; Graduate Work, Special Education Certificate
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
State Board/Commission/Council:
Minnesota State Board of Investment;
19?? to 19??
State Secretary of State:
Minnesota;
01/06/1975 to 01/03/1999
[Elected]
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Divorced (in the early 1960s); Glen H. Growe (remarried in the late 1960s)
Children:
Four children: Michael, Colleen, David "Dave", and Patrick
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
GENERAL NOTES
She ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor endorsed candidate for the United States Senate in the 1984 election. She lost to Rudy Boschwitz.
She was a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
When she was elected Minnesota Secretary of State, she became the first woman to be elected to a Minnesota statewide office without having been appointed first.
Her father served as Mayor of Buffalo, Minnesota.
Body: House
District: 40A
Elected: 11/7/1972
Residence: Minnetonka
Term of Office: 1/2/1973 to 1/6/1975
Counties Represented:
Hennepin
Occupation: Former Teacher
Party:
Nonpartisan Election-Democratic-Farmer-Labor Caucus
Committees:
-
Crime Prevention and Corrections
-
Education
-
Judiciary
-
Metropolitan and Urban Affairs
Video
Women Making Change (Documentary). Minnesota: Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) and American Association of University Women, Red Wing Branch, Original Broadcast Date: September 25, 2011.
- "Stories of vision and courage from women in Minnesota politics over the past century, leading and inspiring others." Includes former legislators Coya Knutson, Joan Growe, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Sandy Wollschlager, and Laura Brod (mentions Mee Moua).
Articles & Books By
Joan Ruth Growe Profile, 1974?
Articles & Books About
Donovan, Sandy. "Growe Steps from One House Term to Six Terms as Secretary of State." Session Weekly, St. Paul: Minnesota House of Representatives Information Office, March 6, 1998, p. 4.
Archive Collections
Joan Growe Papers, 1936, 1973-1998
- Available in the Minnesota Historical Society's Collections.
These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.
The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library has collected newspaper articles on legislators since 1973. They are available in the Library.