Rodney Newell Searle Sr. (July 17, 1920 – January 5, 2014) was a Minnesota farmer, insurance agent, and public servant.

Born and raised in urban New Jersey, Searle moved to rural Minnesota in 1947 with his wife Jane and their two young children.

Searle was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1956, and spent 24 years as a legislator, and had a particular emphasis in education.

[2] He recalled seeing Babe Ruth hit a home run at Shibe Park in nearby Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[6] They began farming 280 acres of run-down land in rural Waseca County, Minnesota in partnership with Robert Christie III, his brother-in-law, in a career for which they were neither trained nor educated.

[4] Searle resumed his college education, transferring his credits earned at Rutgers and attending classes part-time at Minnesota State University, Mankato, obtaining his BA in 1960 while a legislator.

[1] He later acknowledged the "unique opportunity" as speaker of an evenly divided House, and said of this period: "Out of necessity, and challenged by the legislative concerns of the times, raw politics was minimized, and a system of balance, cooperation and mutual respect produced workable solutions to the problems that confronted us.

"[8] In May 1979, Democrats gained a seat, giving the party a majority in the body, and selected Fred C. Norton as Speaker.

[1] He also volunteered for the Minnesota Agricultural Interpretive Center ("Farmamerica"),[13] and the Waseca County Historical Society, which he also served as a member of its board of directors.

[14] Rod Searle's first wife Jane was a librarian and volunteer who assisted children with reading disabilities.