About Me

Dick Day has spent his entire life growing with Southern Minnesota.

Born on a farm two miles outside Rochester, Day moved five blocks from the Mayo Clinic when he was nine and helped his family run a boarding house for patients and their families. He played on Rochester High School’s basketball, football and track teams and learned civics firsthand volunteering on his brother Dewey’s successful campaign for Mayor. When duty called, Day enlisted in the US Navy after graduation.

After years in the service, Day returned to Southern Minnesota because he still believed it was the best home the world had to offer. After graduating from Winona State University on the GI bill, Day started a family with wife Janet – a lifelong Rochester resident and graduate of Lourdes High School. Today, their family includes four children and five grandchildren – and a hundred incentives for Day to continue fighting for a country that offers the greatest opportunities on earth.

With a growing family to support, Dick took a job in the IBM plant and quickly worked his way up – becoming the first factory worker promoted to salesman. Day crisscrossed Southern Minnesota thousands of times, covering the territory of Mower, Freeborn, Steele, Waseca and Rice counties and collecting an in-depth understanding of the diverse cross sections of Southern Minnesota during his 27 years of employment at IBM.

In time, the needs and concerns of local families, employers, unions, small businesses, schools and churches spurred him to action. Motivated by a desire to protect the quality of life that kept his family in the region, Day sought and won a seat on the Owatonna City Council and went on to serve as a Steele County Commissioner. Day was eventually elected to the Minnesota State Senate where he served ten years as the Minority Leader, shaping and guiding initiatives that have strengthened and safeguarded our state.