WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the following statement honoring the life of her friend Don Fraser, former Congressman and Minneapolis mayor, who died earlier today.

“The State of Minnesota has lost a true champion for good. Don and Arvonne Fraser were neighbors and friends. Don Fraser was always ahead of his time. As a congressman he fought for the environment and human rights and exposed human rights abuses around the world. As the Mayor of Minneapolis he advocated for early childhood education. My first job in Democratic politics was as the volunteer executive director of the DFL Education Foundation, a group Don Fraser founded. His mission? Ideas matter in politics. He lived that.

“My family and I greatly miss Don and his late wife, Arvonne. We miss seeing them walk arm in arm in our neighborhood, and we miss their passion for public service and their love for their family and friends.”

Don Fraser was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1924. He fought in World War II and later studied law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Fraser joined the law firm of Larson, Loevinger, Lindquist, Freeman, and Fraser before he was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1954. In 1962, he was elected to the House of Representatives from Minnesota's Fifth District. Fraser went on to serve as mayor of Minneapolis from 1980 to 1994, making him the longest-serving mayor in Minneapolis history.

Fraser was married to Arvonne Skelton Fraser, who dedicated her life to improving the lives of women around the world. Together, they had six children: Thomas, Mary, John, Lois, Anne, and Jean. 

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