ST. PAUL, Minn. (Valley News Live) — Karen Clark, a longtime Minnesota state legislator, died Monday, June 30, 2026. Her family announced her passing on social media, and a spokesperson for the House DFL confirmed her death. She was 80 years old.
Clark was born July 23, 1945 in Oklahoma and grew up on a sharecropping farm in Rock County, Minnesota. She went on to earn a nursing degree from the College of St. Teresa in Winona and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She worked as a nurse practitioner at the Hennepin County Health Department before entering politics.
Clark served in the Minnesota House from 1980 to 2019, a tenure of nearly 40 years, representing Minneapolis. She was the first openly lesbian member of the Minnesota Legislature and was among the legislators who voted for Minnesota’s law legalizing gay marriage. She also advocated for health care and immigrant rights during her time in office.
Tributes pour in
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz remembered Clark as a legend in the House…