Perpich

A Minnesota Original

Benjamin M. Schierer with Lori Sturdevant. Foreword by Governor Mark Dayton.

Minnesota Historical Society Press (April 2025)

Description

The story of Minnesota’s longest-serving—and perhaps most colorful—governor and his role in propelling the state to the global stage, woven together from interviews with many of the era’s most influential civic leaders.

Rudy Perpich was one of a kind. As Minnesota’s longest-serving governor, he built bridges where others saw impassible divides: between rural and urban life, labor and business interests, local politics and international trade. Perpich: A Minnesota Original explores the life and legacy of one of the state’s most consequential political figures.

Crafted from oral histories of influential leaders—including Paul Wellstone, Marlene Johnson, Jim Oberstar, Joan Growe, Sandra Gardebring Ogren, Roger Moe, and Arne Carlson, it reveals how Perpich’s political fortunes mirrored those of the state. It follows Perpich from his youth on the Iron Range to his political forays on the school board and in the statehouse, and to his decade-spanning stints in the governor’s mansion.

A tale of globe-trotting economic tours, major construction projects, and support for education and the arts, it is also the story of bocce ball, proposed chopstick factories, and even a visit from USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev. Schierer and Sturdevant examine the qualities and quirks that allowed Perpich to develop policies that crossed geographic and partisan boundaries. Perpich is a portrait of a unique civic leader who left an indelible mark on the state.

Author Information

Benjamin M. Schierer is the former two-term mayor of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. A former Bush Fellow and NewDEAL Leader, he received his master’s of public administration from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute. 

Lori Sturdevant is a retired Minnesota Star Tribune editorial writer and columnist, author, and three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.