Later she served on the Minnesota State Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators, was on the Board of Adjustment for Wright County, and was a Certified Building Official for Otsego Township.

[1] Adkins served in the Minnesota State Senate as the senator from District 22 (Hennepin and Wright counties) from 1983 to 1992, and District 19 (Sherburne and Wright counties) from 1993 to 1995.

[3] In early 1994 Adkins suffered a near-fatal car crash and announced her retirement from the state senate, planned for January 1, 1995.

[4] This triggered a special election on November 8, 1994, which brought Mark Ourada into the Senate to fill out the remaining two years of her term.

[6] She died in Buffalo, Minnesota on October 29, 2001, from Alzheimer's disease.