A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented District 19, which included portions of Blue Earth, Le Sueur, and Nicollet counties in the south central part of the state.

[1] She graduated from Convent of the Visitation School in Mendota Heights in 1965, then attended the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, receiving her B.S.

[4] Her special legislative concerns include health care, education, tax policy, agriculture, transportation, and the environment.

She is also co-chair of Generations of Care, a community partnership in support of Immanuel-St. Joseph's Heart and Cancer Centers.

[5] She also hosts "Community Conversations," a Public-access television cable TV show in the Mankato area.