James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician and Congressman who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011.

[8] An avid cyclist, Oberstar championed the creation of trails for cycling and hiking to promote active lifestyles.

In 2005, he authored, co-sponsored, and helped to pass the SAFETEA-LU act, a $295 billion program[9] that funded transportation infrastructure, including highways, bridges, and public transportation, such as subways, buses, and passenger ferries and which includes the Safe Routes to Schools program.

[11] Along with John Conyers, in April 2006, Oberstar brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution in the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

Oberstar was an anti-abortion Democrat, and believed it should only be allowed if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, or if the life of the mother was endangered.

[22]He voted in 2003 to ban intact dilation and extraction, also known as "partial-birth abortion", and was present at the bill's signing by President George W.

[25] Oberstar voted against legislation in 2005 to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to research embryonic stem cells, and again in 2007, one of the only 14 and 16 Democratic members respectively to do so.

[28] Oberstar supported the bill to move the Terri Schiavo case to federal court, and appeared at a press conference with then-House Majority leader Tom DeLay to urge its passage.

The Defense of Marriage Act passed in 1996 with the support of 118 House Democratic members, including Oberstar.

[40] He voted to pass the Energy and Environmental Law Amendments, which aimed to establish a program to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in 2009.

[40] According to the Minnesota Congressional Election 2008 Political Courage Test, Oberstar supported having taxation of corporate earnings, gasoline, and cigarettes.

[45] He believed that free trade under NAFTA and CAFTA offered little or no economic opportunity for American workers and producers due to inadequate provisions in the agreements.

During the 2006 elections, Oberstar's Republican opponent was former United States Senator Rod Grams, whose lived in the southwestern corner of the 8th.

During the 2008 campaign, Oberstar appeared alongside other public officials in a TV ad[47] supporting the reelection of Puerto Rico Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, a fellow Democrat.

During the 2010 elections, Oberstar lost a close race to political newcomer and Tea Party favorite Chip Cravaack, who won a plurality of 48 percent of the vote.

[50] In May 2011, a Great Lakes ore carrier, of the Interlake Steamship Company, which typically transports taconite pellets from Duluth, Silver Bay and Marquette to steel mills near Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago, was renamed after him, dubbed the MV Honorable James L.

In October 2015, the new passenger terminal of the Duluth International Airport was named in honor of Oberstar, who helped secure funding for the facility before its 2013 opening.

The collection emphasizes Oberstar's activities on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, demonstrated by an extensive series of staff office topical files addressing various issues, projects, and legislation related to aviation, highways and bridges, railways, waterways, and bikeways.

Additional significant content focuses on economic development in the Iron Range, travel and tourism, trade, and environmental protection of Minnesota's land and water resources.