Where Are They Now?

He even surprised himself with what he became after Roosevelt: Wes Skoglund, 30-year Minnesota legislator and voice of the people, DFL bigwig and man often in the news.

“I remember being painfully shy and self-conscious, but I always thought the other kids in the school were really nice,” Wes said of his high school days. “I’ve never figured out how I switched from a wallflower existence to a door-knocking, handshaking and speech-giving elected official.”

Wes retired from the State Capitol on the last day of 2006, having served in both the Minnesota House and Senate. He represented the neighborhoods of south Minneapolis through redistricting, in his last term serving 75,000 constituents in Senate District 62 that stretched from E. Franklin Av. and W. River Pkwy. to W. 58th St. and Lyndale Av. S.

“I’ve been interested in public policy and politics from the time I was a little boy,” he explained. “I remember being fixated watching the 1952 Republican convention on TV. By 1956, I had come to my senses, became an Adlai Stevenson fan and watched the Democratic convention instead.”

Wes graduated from the University of Minnesota with a psychology major along with business and political science minors. He focused on industrial psychology, hoping that it would lead to a corporate job in personnel. It did, and he spent 24 years in the personnel department at Control Data Corp. before its breakup.

But he was also active in DFL politics and threw his hat into the ring while still in his 20s, recalling, “I lost an uphill battle for the Legislature in 1970. I ran again in 1972, but lost by four votes in a recount. I finally won a House seat in 1974. My opponent then was former Mayor Charles Stenvig.”

Wes had paid his dues, and won another two-year term in 1976. Yet wasn’t home free, because he lost the House seat in 1978 to a Roosevelt grad from the ‘50s, Jim Norman. Not giving up, he ran against Norman again in 1980. And won. In fact, from then on he was reelected 10 straight times. Then in 2002, he decided to seek the Senate seat from the district and was elected for a four-year term. Following that is when he called it quits, leaving a distinguished record as a state lawmaker.

“I authored almost 300 laws on dozens of different topics during my tenure,” Wes explained. “I’m probably best known for authoring the Sexually Dangerous Persons Act, the bill that gave the state the legal ability to civilly commit sex offenders. Almost 400 rapists and child molesters, who otherwise would have posed an enormous threat to vulnerable people, are now committed to the state treatment centers in St. Peter and Moose Lake.

“Most of my unsung efforts were in funding schools. My favorite bills were about helping people adopt children and creating health insurance programs for people who otherwise are too sick to qualify for normal health insurance.”

It was a mixed blessing to retire, Wes admitted. “I loved the job, but love my wife more. We decided to retire together. It’s been great. I have no regrets about leaving.”

Wife Linda Brown is a 1968 Roosevelt grad, although their first meeting was through political circles. Linda was an auditor with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The couple raised two daughters, Anne, 26, and Jenny, 24, both schoolteachers.

After Control Data went out of business, Wes earned a substitute teaching license to work with special needs kids. “I still have my sub teaching license and am on call, but I don’t take many assignments any more,” he said.

He still values his three years at Roosevelt. “I feel fortunate to have grown up and gone to school with nice kids who had to work for the material things they got,” Wes observed. “I think the value system we shared in that era has stayed with and helped me all through my life. It made for a fulfilling personal and professional life.”