Searle, Rod

Rodney N. Searle was born in Camden, New Jersey on July 17, 1920. His father, William A. Searle, was a newspaper editor and his mother, Ruby Marie Barrus Searle, was a nurse. Searle married Jane E. Christie on May 17, 1941 and moved to Minnesota in May 1947 to farm with his wife's brother.

Searle was elected by Waseca County in 1956 to the 16th district House seat vacated by Omar Dahle. During his first term Searle was appointed to the committees on Appropriations, Education, Game and Fish, Reapportionment, and State and County Fairs. Throughout the course of his 24-year tenure Searle served 16 years on the Education Committee (1957-1972), eight years on the Higher Education Committee (1969-1976), 20 years on the Appropriations Committee (1957-1960 and 1963-1978), and chaired the education division of the Appropriations Committee for ten years.

Searle also served as assistant minority leader from 1975 until 1979 when representation in the House was evenly divided between the two major political parties. Lengthy negotiations between the two parties resulted in the adoption of temporary rules for the first session of the 71st legislature. Searle served as Speaker of the House under those rules while Irv Anderson chaired the Committee on Rules and Legislative Administration. After the DFL won a majority of House seats in 1980, Searle then led the Independent-Republican Caucus.

Searle retired from the Legislature following the close of the 1980 legislative session and was replaced by Jerry Schoenfeld who had campaigned against Searle in the 1978 election. Following his retirement Searle served as president of the Minnesota State University Board until 1991 when he was named chairman of the Minnesota College Merger Board.

Biographical information was taken from the collection.

From the guide to the Rodney N. Searle papers., 1943-2005., (Minnesota Historical Society)