Hiawatha Line
Hiawatha Line light rail train in Minneapolis
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	Metro Transit
Status	Operational
Locale	Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan: Minneapolis, Minnesota, Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Bloomington, Minnesota
Termini	Mall of America (south) Target Field (north)
Stations	19
Daily ridership	30,500 (Q2 2011)[1]
Operation
Opened	June 26, 2004
Operator(s)	Metro Transit
Character	Surface
Technical
Line length	12.3 mi (19.8 km)
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Minimum radius	82 feet (25 m)
Electrification	Overhead lines, 750 V DC
Operating speed	55 mph (89 km/h) max 18 mph (29 km/h) average
Route map Bottineau Transitway (proposed) Southwest Corridor (proposed) Target Fieldto Northstar Line and proposed Duluth and Red Rock lines Interstate 394 Warehouse District / Hennepin Nicollet Mall Government Plaza Downtown East / Metrodome Downtown fare zone limit Central Corridor (under construction) Interstate 35W Cedar-Riverside Interstate 94 Franklin Avenue Lake Street/Midtown 38th Street 46th Street Minnehaha Parkway 50th Street/Minnehaha Park VA Medical Center Minnesota State Highway 62 Fort Snellingpark & ride Airport – Terminal 1-Lindbergh free, 24-hour operation between terminals Airport – Terminal 2-Humphrey Interstate 494 American Boulevard Bloomington Central 28th Avenuepark & ride Mall of America v t e

The Hiawatha Line (to be called the Blue Line in the future) is a 12.3 mi (19.8 km) light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the Mall of America, the Metrodome and Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.

The Hiawatha Line is operated by Metro Transit, which is also the primary operator of buses in the Twin Cities. The line accounts for about 12% of Metro Transit's total ridership. Less than two years after opening, the line had already exceeded its 2020 weekday ridership goal of 24,800.^[2] The line carried 10.2 million riders in 2008, a year marked by unusually high fuel prices, reaching 35,500 daily boardings in the third quarter.^[1]

Line color[link]

In July 2011, the Metropolitan Council officially approved renaming the Hiawatha Line as the Blue Line. This will be part of a broader color scheme for identifying Twin Cities transit lines, including the under-construction LRT line to St. Paul-the Green Line, along with two under-construction BRT lines, the Orange Line (35W BRT) and the Red Line (Cedar Avenue BRT).^[3]

Stations and expansions[link]

Each of the 19 stations along the route is designed in a unique architectural style reflective of the station's surrounding community. This is not an entirely new idea for the region, as many of the higher-traffic bus stops around the city have distinctive designs. Due to the unique makeup of Minneapolis's population, ticket-dispensing machines present instructions in four languages: English, Spanish, Somali, and Hmong. Travel time is roughly two minutes between most stations. The airport used to operate a bus shuttle between the two terminals, but the light-rail line has supplanted that service. No fare is required to ride between the two airport stations.

Construction of Target Field Station[link]

In November 2008, track welding was completed to extend the line several blocks northwest to reach the site of the Target Field Station. The station opened on November 14, 2009, and is adjacent to Target Field, the Minnesota Twins' new ballpark. The two-level station has light rail platforms on the upper level for use by Hiawatha and Central Corridor light rail trains, and platforms next to the BNSF mainline tracks passing beneath the station to serve the Northstar Commuter Rail line. In addition, some routing options for the future Southwest Corridor LRT line would connect directly to the end of the Hiawatha Line to share service with the station.^[4]

New station constructed in Bloomington[link]

Federal money was secured for construction of the new American Boulevard Station in Bloomington between the Humphrey Terminal Station and Bloomington Central Station. This station was included in the line's original plans, but was supplanted by the decision to have a station directly at the Mall of America. Because much of the necessary underground infrastructure for the station was installed when the line was constructed, the station was built without interrupting regular service. The station opened December 12, 2009.^[5]

2009 expansion of existing stations[link]

During the summer of 2009, work began on lengthening the station platforms. This permitted the use of three-car trains, instead of the two-car trains that were the previous maximum. This allowed the line to meet the continually growing demand without adding additional trains to the schedule or adding more drivers. The expansions were completed in 2010.

Service[link]

Hiawatha Line Light Rail staff, security, and volunteers produced a largely hitch-free opening day for the new rail system on June 26, 2004.^[6] Officials estimated 30,000 people boarded the electric-powered trains during the transit system's first day of service. Train rides were free. Each station featured live entertainment and food as a diversion for the long waits to board the trains.

Passengers who ride the rail system are ordinarily charged the same fare as they would pay for the local Metro Transit bus system, and they are able to use their bus transfer cards to switch between the two different modes of transportation without making another payment. A new payment system using smart cards (known as Go-To Cards) was initially expected to be introduced along with the rail line in June 2004, but software bugs delayed introduction. As of September 2006, the bugs have been worked out and the Go-To Cards are now operational.

In basic service, trains operate every 10 minutes, though rush hour sees one train every 7½ minutes, and late-night operation once every half hour. The line shuts down for about four hours each night, except for a shuttle service between the two terminals at the MSP airport. Vehicles have a capacity of 66 seated passengers and 120 standing. Currently two or three vehicles are linked together to increase capacity. Predicted daily ridership was 19,300 for 2005 and 24,600 for 2020.

The line is named for Hiawatha Avenue, also known as Minnesota State Highway 55, which runs parallel to the train tracks for much of its distance. The line also runs for a few miles on the former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Short Line roadbed which brought Hiawatha passenger trains into their downtown depot. To integrate the light rail route with the rest of the area bus system, it was also given the name Route 55. In extremely heavy travel periods and when the rail line is out of service for any reason, buses use that route number. Before the second phase had been completed, a temporary bus line known as Route 155 provided a link to some destinations south of the Fort Snelling station.

Significant effort has gone into creating artwork for the different rail stations. In the months after the line first started, a number of small audio and video playback devices were installed in the stations, to provide amusement and topics for discussion among travelers waiting for the train.

There are two stretches where tunnels are used on the line. A short tunnel parallel to Hiawatha Avenue travels under Minnehaha Parkway just north of the 50th Street station. At the airport, twin tunnels (one each for the northbound and southbound trains) go underground for 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to reach the Lindbergh Terminal station, the only stop that is totally underground—70 feet (21.3 m) below the surface. Trains return to the surface as they near Humphrey Terminal. Some of the sections under the airport required the use of a tunnel boring machine.

Vehicles[link]

A two-unit train approaches 46th Street station from the south.

Currently, the Hiawatha Line uses 27 Flexity Swift trams manufactured by Bombardier, electrically powered by overhead lines. The system is designed to output 750 volts of direct current. Trains can reach speeds of 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h), but the “general service speed” is about 40 mph (64.4 km/h) or slower (especially in the congested downtown region). They are of a 70% low-floor design, meaning that 70 percent of the floor inside is within about 14 inches (356 mm) of the ground. This is the same height as the rail platforms, allowing stepless access for passengers dependent on wheelchairs or other mobility aids. The feature also makes it easier for passengers with bicycles or strollers to board the train. Each vehicle weighs about 107,000 pounds (48,534 kg) when empty. The Minneapolis installation is the first use of this model in the United States.^[7]

Vehicles have a color scheme that is primarily a combination of black, yellow, and gray. Yellow is a notable color because it was commonly used on the previous streetcar systems in the area. Each vehicle has an A, B, and C section: The A and B sections are the large portions on each end, while the C section is a small portion that connects the two other pieces and has the vehicle's middle truck or bogie. Electricity is collected by a pantograph mounted on the B section. The first vehicle was delivered on March 19, 2003. 14 of 15 delivered vehicles were operational for the opening weekend. The initial order was eventually bumped up to a full 24 vehicles, which were operational by early 2005. Three additional vehicles were ordered in the winter of 2006/2007, using leftover funds from the construction budget for one vehicle and Hennepin County funds for the other two. This completes the first generation of rolling stock at a total of 27 vehicles on the line.

The noses of these vehicles are built to a different design than is standard for the Flexity Swift, containing a small scoop-shaped area. This could assist somewhat in the removal of snow, but the anticipated snow-management method is merely to run trains on a frequent basis rather than actually using snow removal equipment (this was what the earlier streetcar system usually did to keep lines clear, though they also often featured small scrapers in front of the lead wheels).

Each vehicle has a number of cameras onboard, pointing both inward and outward, to monitor passenger activity and other areas of interest for security and safety. Train stations also have cameras. Video feeds and the position of each vehicle on the line are monitored in a control room at the system's maintenance facility, located between Cedar-Riverside and Franklin Avenue stations.

According to Metropolitan Council meeting notes dated July 30, 2010 for the August 9 Transportation Committee meeting, Siemens Industry Incorporated is expected to build the Light Rail Vehicles for the three-car train expansion project in a joint procurement with the Green Line's initial LRV procurement, at a per-LRV cost of $3,297,714 and a total contract value of $153,211,516.^[8] According to Mark Fuhrmann's presentation at the July 26, 2010 Transportation Committee meeting, these "Type II" LRVs will be mechanically, but not electronically, compatible with the current fleet of 27 "type I" vehicles, so while the two generations will be able to run on the tracks at the same time and either type would be able to push a malfunctioning unit of the other type, multiple-unit trains may only be assembled of one type.^[9]

History[link]

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area once had an extensive network of streetcars (operated for many years by Twin City Rapid Transit, a precursor of Metro Transit), but the tracks were removed and services were eliminated in the 1950s.

Over the years since the last trolley ran in 1954, many people have pushed for the reintroduction of rail transport in the Twin Cities. The primary reason is that traffic congestion has grown considerably since the streetcar system ceased operation: a 2003 report by the Texas Transportation Institute indicated that the area was the 17th most congested area in the country, with the second fastest congestion growth. Congestion is also one of the most prominent complaints of area residents^{[citation needed]}. The area's population is expected to grow by about one million residents by 2020, adding to the population of 3.3 million as of the 2010 census (Which means that in less than 10 years the area could have a population of more than 4 million similar in size to the metropolitan area of Phoenix, AZ or Detroit, MI.)^{[citation needed]} While the Hiawatha Line is not expected to make a significant dent in the region overall, proponents hope that the line's popularity will ensure future expansion will happen (in the first full month of service, ridership exceeded projections by 99.8%, although transit officials were wary about drawing too many conclusions so early on in the line's life)^{[citation needed]}.

No new rail projects were able to get off the ground for many years until the 1990s when several factors combined to make the idea more palatable to area politicians. Governor Jesse Ventura and Minnesota Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg heavily promoted the idea of rail transport, and significant amounts of money became available from the federal government. Previous governors had advocated light rail, but had not been able to get legislation passed. Governor Tim Pawlenty had campaigned on a promise to fight the expansion of light rail, but has altered his opinions since taking office. He also initially opposed the proposed Northstar Corridor commuter rail project, which would be a rail corridor north of Minneapolis, but changed his mind about that project in January 2004 when a scaled-back version was shown to have good potential^{[citation needed]}.

A pedestrian walking next to moving trains

For many, the Hiawatha Avenue corridor was not the top choice for a new project. Popular other options included connecting Minneapolis with western suburbs, though probably the most-desired option has been the Green Line connecting the Twin Cities themselves (Minneapolis and St. Paul) with a route down the middle of Interstate 94 or University Avenue. However, much of the land had already been acquired by the state in the 1960s in preparation for a sunken radial expressway into downtown that was never built. In addition to the available land, the desire to connect to the airport and at least reach the vicinity of the Mall of America proved to be the bigger draw for decision-makers^{[citation needed]}.

The idea of running a rail line down Hiawatha Avenue had already been around for at least a decade by the time the decision was made to go forward. In 1985, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) had produced an environmental impact statement that concluded that light rail was the best alternative for the corridor.^[10] In 1996, the document was examined again as Mn/DOT looked at the possibility of adding a busway (bus rapid transit) along the road, but money for light rail became available soon after, leading to the current layout.

Groundbreaking for the line took place on January 17, 2001. Regular service began on the first phase of the line on June 26, 2004, with the second phase opening later that year on December 4. Each opening was accompanied with two days of free rides on the train and area buses. The line was tested for months before opening, with regular service simulated for about a month before each phase went online. The Hiawatha Line opened 50 years and one week after the last regular-service streetcars ran in the city.

Busways are still being examined for many future projects, and it appears likely that at least one will be built. Construction of the area's second light rail line, the Central Corridor Line (Green Line) connecting downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul began in late 2010. On April 26, 2011, the U.S. government announced $478 million in funding for its construction.^[11] In late 2011, plans for a third LRT, Southwest Corridor Line (Green Line extension) were approved and are awaiting funding.

Funding and delays[link]

Government Plaza station in front of City Hall

The line's cost is expected to total $715 million, with $424 million coming from the federal government^{[citation needed]}. This is considerably higher than initial budgets predicted—the figure was about $400 million in 1997. Opponents to the rail line state that it went far over-budget, but supporters of the line state that extensions of the route and other alterations, plus the impact of inflation, are the real reasons for the increased cost. Initial designs cut out the last stop in downtown, and the southern end of the line did not quite connect to the Mall of America. The Warehouse District stop was added early but another cost increase came from approximately $40 million to enhance the line (while construction was in progress) to bring the line directly into the Mall of America's transit hub. It was completed a year or two later than what was initially hoped for (a lot of literature pointed to 2003 as the opening year), but the mall connection was a significant contribution to the extra time requirements^{[citation needed]}. These extensions are also why the line was initially reported to be 11.6 miles long, but ended up being 12 miles in length. The Target Field extension in 2009 added a few more tenths to the length.

In March 2004, the labor union representing Metro Transit bus workers went on strike. This delayed the opening of the line from the anticipated start date of April 3, although there was some indication that the opening would have been delayed anyway. Apparently, some of the delay had to do with slow delivery of trainsets from Bombardier. Certain aspects of the design had been tried before, but the cars were the first to combine the factors of conforming to American standards (as opposed to European), having low floors, and being built at the company's Mexico plant. Some problems also cropped up during testing of the vehicles, but Bombardier has said that the issues are not out of the ordinary^{[citation needed]}.

When the buses began rolling again on April 19, the line's opening was rolled back to June 26. Testing of the track and vehicles continued during the bus strike, as much of the work was performed by Bombardier employees rather than Metro Transit workers. Train operators who had already gone through the training process were given refresher courses when the strike ended.

Signal problems[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Delays of a different sort have afflicted cars and trucks running along Hiawatha Avenue and cross streets. The rail vehicles stop for traffic signals in downtown Minneapolis, but use signal preemption along much of the route, allowing the train to speed through by lowering gate arms at railroad crossings and turning traffic lights red. Synchronization of the different signals has been very problematic, reportedly causing some people to be stuck waiting at intersections for ten to fifteen minutes when the train was in its testing phase. Engineers from Metro Transit, the city of Minneapolis, and Mn/DOT have worked to get their respective systems communicating with each other, but delays are still common in the area.

Franklin Avenue Station

Around the time of the line's opening, the Minneapolis City Council requested additional assistance from the Federal Highway Administration to resolve the issue, and the agency promised to send experienced engineers when they become available. However, it appears that improvements would require significant changes to the signal layout.

Delay issues are partially due to an unusual problem: the train horns. Residents along the rail corridor had complained that the horns were too loud, so transit officials decided to reduce the volume. However, this forced a reduction in service speed, as the quieter sound could not be heard at as great a distance. Some sections that were going to be limited to 55 mph were instead limited to 45 mph. Crossing gates and signals along the line are set to go off when the train is at a certain distance from the intersection, so the slower speed meant that the trains would trigger the gates prematurely.

In February 2005, the signals were upgraded at a cost of between $300,000 and $400,000 to improve traffic flow (the money came from leftover contingency funds in the system's construction budget). Changes involved moving the crossing trigger points closer to intersections, reprogramming the gates themselves to operate more quickly, altering the timings used when trains are at stations next to gated crossings, and altering the behavior of pedestrian crosswalks along the corridor. This is all expected to improve wait times on nearby roadways by 20 to 40 seconds.

See also[link]

• Light rail in North America
• Light rail

References[link]

External links[link]

• Metro Transit: Hiawatha Line (Route 55)
• Metropolitan Council: Hiawatha Line
• The Hiawatha Project
• nycsubway.org: Hiawatha Line image collection
• Route map and schedule
• Network map (to scale)

v t e Currently operating light rail and streetcar systems in the United States Arizona Metro Light Rail · Old Pueblo Trolley Arkansas River Rail Streetcar California MUNI: Cable Car, F Market & Wharves, and Metro lines · Metro Rail: Blue Line, Green Line, Gold Line and Expo Line  · Sacramento RT · San Diego Trolley · Sprinter · Santa Clara VTA · Waterfront Red Car Colorado Fort Collins Municipal Railway · Platte Valley Trolley · RTD Light Rail Florida TECO Line Streetcar System Georgia River Street Streetcar Louisiana New Orleans Streetcars Maryland Baltimore Light Rail Massachusetts Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line · MBTA Green Line Minnesota Como-Harriet Streetcar Line · Hiawatha Line Missouri /  Illinois MetroLink New Jersey Hudson–Bergen Light Rail · Newark Light Rail · River Line New York Buffalo Metro Rail North Carolina Lynx Rapid Transit Services · Charlotte Trolley Ohio RTA Blue and Green Lines Oregon MAX Light Rail · Portland Streetcar · Portland Vintage Trolley Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Light Rail · SEPTA Routes 15, 101, 102, and Subway–Surface Lines Tennessee Memphis MATA Trolley Texas DART Light Rail · Houston MetroRail · M-Line (McKinney Ave.) Utah UTA TRAX Virginia Norfolk Tide Washington Link Light Rail · Seattle Streetcar Network Wisconsin Kenosha Transit

"Hiawatha" by Thomas Eakins.

Hiawatha (also known as Ayenwatha, Aiionwatha, or Haiëñ'wa'tha; Onondaga)^[1] is a legendary Native American leader and founder of the Iroquois confederacy. Depending on the version of the narrative, Hiawatha lived in the 16th century and was a leader of the Onondaga or the Mohawk.

Hiawatha was a follower of The Great Peacemaker, a prophet and spiritual leader, who proposed the unification of the Iroquois peoples, who shared similar languages. Hiawatha, a skilled and charismatic orator, was instrumental in persuading the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks, to accept the Great Peacemaker's vision and band together to become the Five Nations of the Iroquois confederacy. Later, the Tuscarora nation joined the Confederacy to become the Sixth Nation.

Hiawatha Belt[link]

The Hiawatha Belt

The Hiawatha Belt is made of 6574 wampum beads - 38 rows by 173 rows, and has 892 white and 5682 purple beads. The purple represents the sky or universe that surrounds us, and the white represents purity and Good Mind (good thoughts, forgiveness, and understanding). The belt symbolizes the Five Nations from west to east in their respective territories across New York state—Seneca (keepers of the western door), Cayuga (People of the Swamp), Onondaga (Keepers of the Fire), Oneida (People of the Standing Stone) and Mohawk (keeper of the eastern door)—by open ‘squares’ of white beads with the central figure signifying a tree or heart. The white open squares are connected by a white band that has no beginning or end, representing all time now and forever. The band, however, does not cross through the center of each nation, meaning that each nation is supported and unified by a common bond and that each is separate in its own identity and domain. The open center also signifies the idea of a fort protected on all sides, but open in the center, symbolizing an open heart and mind within.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy flag

The tree figure signifies the Onondaga Nation, capital of the League and home to the central council fire. It was on the shores of Onondaga Lake where the message of peace was “planted” and the hatchets were buried.^{[citation needed]} From this tree, four white roots sprouted, carrying the message of unity and peace to the four directions.

The Hiawatha Belt has been dated to the mid-18th century. Near its center, it contains a bead made of colonial lead glass. It is believed the design is as old as the league itself, and that the present belt is not the original.^[2]

The Hiawatha Belt forms the basis of the flag of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, created in the 1980s. It is also included in the logo of the Toronto Nationals, a Major League Lacrosse team.

Popular culture[link]

• In 1940, plans for a film about the historical Hiawatha by Monogram Pictures were scrapped. The reason given was that Hiawatha's peacemaker role could be seen as "Communist propaganda."^[3][4]
• Vince Edwards played the title role of Hiawatha in the 1952 film of the same name, the last release of Monogram Pictures.
• Litefoot portrayed this historical Iroquois in Song of Hiawatha (1997).
• In 1988, an Australian animated film titled Hiawatha was produced.
• Hiawatha is the leader of the Iroquois in both Age of Empires III and Civilization V.
• British band Everything Everything released the song Hiawatha Doomed as an iTunes bonus track for their album Man Alive. Hiawatha is one of the lead tribes in Mississauga.

See also[link]

• The Song of Hiawatha

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bonvillain, Nancy (2005). Hiawatha : founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. ISBN 1-59155-176-5 ISBN 9781591551768
• Hale, Horatio (1881). Hiawatha and the Iroquois confederation : a study in anthropology.
• Hatzan, A. Leon (1925). The true story of Hiawatha, and history of the Six Nations Indians.
• Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe (1856). The Myth of Hiawatha, and Other Oral Legends, Mythologic and Allegoric, of the North American Indians.
• Laing, Mary E. (1920). The hero of the longhouse.
• Saraydarian, Torkom and Joann L Alesch (1984). Hiawatha and the great peace. ISBN 0-911794-25-5 ISBN 9780911794250 ISBN 0-911794-28-X ISBN 9780911794281
• Siles, William H. (1986). Studies in local history : tall tales, folklore and legend of upstate New York.

Juvenile audience

• Bonvillain, Nancy (1992). Hiawatha : founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. ISBN 0-7910-1707-9 ISBN 9780791017074
• Fradin, Dennis B. (1992). Hiawatha : messenger of peace. ISBN 0-689-50519-1 ISBN 9780689505195
• McClard, Megan, George Ypsilantis and Frank Riccio (1989). Hiawatha and the Iroquois league. ISBN 0-382-09568-5 ISBN 9780382095689 ISBN 0-382-09757-2 ISBN 9780382097577
• Malkus, Alida (1963). There really was a Hiawatha.
• St. John, Natalie and Mildred Mellor Bateson (1928). Romans of the West : untold but true story of Hiawatha.
• Taylor, C. J. (2004). Peace walker : the legend of Hiawatha and Tekanawita. ISBN 0-88776-547-5 ISBN 9780887765476

External links[link]

• View Historica’s Heritage Minute "Peacemaker", a mini-docudrama about the co founders of the Iroquois Confederacy.
• Chapter V The Iroquois Confederacy
• History of the Mohawk Valley: Dekanawida and Hiawatha, Schenectady Digital History Archive
• Google Books overview of Ancient Society
• "Chief Hiawatha". Legendary co-founder of the Iroquois League. Find a Grave. Oct 23, 2003. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6872698. Retrieved Aug 18, 2011. 

Martin Olav Sabo
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 5th district
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Donald M. Fraser
Succeeded by	Keith Ellison
45th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
In office 1973–1979
Preceded by	A.W. Dirlam
Succeeded by	Rodney N. Searle
Personal details
Born	(1938-02-28) February 28, 1938 (age 74) Crosby, North Dakota
Political party	Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Sylvia Ann Lee
Residence	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alma mater	Augsburg College
Occupation	political assistant
Religion	Lutheran

Martin Olav Sabo (born February 28, 1938) is an American politician and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) and a former United States Representative for Minnesota's fifth district, which includes Minneapolis; the district is one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota.

Sabo was born of Norwegian immigrant parents in Crosby, North Dakota and in 1959 received a B.A. from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, later pursuing graduate studies at the University of Minnesota. He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1960 at the age of 22, later serving as minority leader (1969–72) and as the first Democrat to serve as house speaker (1973–78). During his tenure in the state house he served terms as president of the National Conference of State Legislatures and of the National Legislative Conference, and was a presidential appointee to the National Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

When eight-term incumbent and fellow DFLer Donald M. Fraser stepped down to run for the U.S. Senate, Sabo became the DFL candidate to succeed him in what had become the most reliably Democratic district in Minnesota (Fraser had defeated a 10-term Republican in 1962 and hadn't faced serious opposition since). He won easily in November 1978 and was reelected thirteen times without serious opposition, serving in the 96th, 97th, 98th, 99th, 100th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, and 109th congresses.

During the 103rd Congress (1993–94) he chaired the House Budget Committee. As chairman of the Committee, he shepherded the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 through the House, legislation that allowed the United States to erase its budget deficit by 1999.^[1] (The deficit subsequently returned.) In the 109th United States Congress he sat on the House Appropriations Committee, and was the ranking member of that committee's Homeland Security subcommittee.

A Lutheran, Sabo is married and has two children and six grandchildren. His daughter, Julie Sabo, is a former member of the Minnesota Senate and was the 2002 Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. During the course of his career Sabo referred to himself as a "liberal decentrist", preferring progressive politics, but local control instead of federal control.^[2]

Sabo was considered to be the most liberal member of the Minnesota delegation in the 109th Congress, scoring 4% conservative by a conservative group^[3] and 90% progressive by a liberal group.^[4] Minnesota Congressional Districts shows the scores for the entire delegation.

On March 18, 2006 he announced that he would not run for reelection for the 110th Congress, ending 46 years as an elected official, including 28 years in Congress – the second-longest tenure in either house of Congress in the state's history, behind only fellow Democrat Jim Oberstar.^[2][5] His seat was then won by State Representative Keith Ellison, also a progressive DFLer, who replaced Sabo as the Fifth District representative on January 4, 2007.

Sabo serves as a co-chair of the National Transportation Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center.^[6] For his work on acquiring funding for transportation projects and specifically pedestrian and bicycling funding, the Midtown Greenway bridge in Minneapolis was named the Martin Olav Sabo Bridge.

Sabo was a lifelong smoker until he quit in 2003.

Electoral history[link]

• 2004 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 5th District
  • Martin Olav Sabo (DFL) (inc.), 70%
  • Daniel Mathias (R), 24%
  • Jay Pond (G), 6%

References[link]

External links[link]

• Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
• Martin Olav Sabo at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Martin Sabo legislative and congressional papers are available for research at the Minnesota Historical Society

v t e Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives Territorial (1849–1858) Furber • Ames • Ludden • Day • Taylor • Norris • Gardner • Furber • Watrous State (since 1858) Bradley • Coggswell • Benson • Sherwood • Benson • Armstrong • Wakefield • Farmer • Davidson • J. Merriam • Hall • Kinyon • Gibbs • Gilman • Fletcher • Gibbs • W. Merriam • Graves • Champlin • Lee • Van Sant • Jones • Dare • Dowling • Babcock • Clague • L. Johnson • Rockne • Dunn • Rines • Flowers • Parker • Nolan • J. Johnson • Swenson • Munn • G. Johnson • Barker • Hall • Hartle • A. Johnson • Chilgren • Duxbury • Dirlam • Sabo • Searle • Norton • Sieben • Jennings • Norton • Vanasek • Long • Anderson • Carruthers • Sviggum • Anderson Kelliher • Zellers

v t e Minnesota House Minority Leaders Halstead • Prifrel • Chilgren • Cina • Hartle • Langen • Duxbury • Cina • Sabo • Dirlam • Savelkoul • Searle • Sherwood • Jennings • Norton • Schreiber • Dempsey • Sviggum • Pugh • Entenza • Anderson Kelliher • Seifert • Zellers • Thissen