MINNEAPOLIS – Rick Nolan, the former DFL congressman who was a “champion for the Northland” has died at the age of 80. Nolan, who was born in Brainerd, represented the 8th Congressional District between 2013 and 2019. His long political career started when he served as an assistant to then-U.S. Senator Walter Mondale, and he had a stint in the Minnesota House before he was elected to represent the 6th Congressional District in the mid-70s.