Her name was Coya Knutson and she made history as the first woman from Minnesota elected to Congress and for the notorious "Coya, Come Home" letter supposedly written by her then-estranged husband, urging her to give up her seat and not seek re-election. The letter drew nationwide attention and was instrumental in her loss for a third term in congress in 1958.

Knutson, who was from Oklee, died at the age of 96. Senator's Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith honored her contributions with resolutions this week on what would have been Knutson's 106th birthday.

Smith says Knutson was a trailblazer, establishing the first federal student loan program, the first grants for cystic fibrosis research and the first congresswoman ever appointed the House Ag. Committee. She calls Knutson a "real role model."

Coya Knutson served two terms in the U.S. House. It was later revealed the letter that led to the end of Knutson's political career was the work of political rivals in her own party who put her husband up to it.