COOK, Minn. – Long-time DFL state Senator Doug Johnson, an Iron Range political legend who shaped Minnesota tax policy for decades, died earlier this week at a hospital in Cook at the age of 80. Johnson was a member of the Minnesota House from 1971 to 1976, then served in the Senate through 2002. He had a reputation as a shrewd political strategist and a fierce fighter for the Iron Range.
As chairman of the powerful Senate Tax Committee, Johnson spearheaded passage of new formulas for the Taconite Production Tax to benefit communities and schools in northeastern Minnesota. After he left the legislature, Johnson and his wife did political consulting for more than a decade from their home on Lake Vermilion. Denesse Johnson says her husband “never quit with politics” and was helping Grant Hauschild, the Democrat who won retiring Senator Tom Bakk’s Senate seat in Tuesday’s election.
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