Heather Keeler is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party ** representing **District 4A in northwest Minnesota, including the city of Moorhead and parts of Clay County. Born on December 18, 1981, in South Dakota, she is a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe with Ihanktonwan heritage and lineage to Eastern Shoshonean. She has two children and resides in Moorhead. Elected in 2020 after four-term incumbent Ben Lien retired, she assumed office in January 2021, was reelected in 2022, and ran again in 2024. Notable achievements include serving as Assistant DFL Floor Leader, vice chair of the Human Services Finance and Policy Committee , and membership on Education Policy and Health Finance and Policy committees. She is part of the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus and has advocated for Indigenous issues, such as opposing the Line 3 pipeline, replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day, addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives crisis, increasing teachers of color, and funding emergency food shelves in 2023.

Education and Political Experience

Keeler earned an Associate of Arts from Minnesota State College Southeast, a Bachelor of Science from Minnesota State University Moorhead, and a Master of Education in educational leadership from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2019. Before politics, she worked as assistant director of multicultural recruitment at North Dakota State University, volunteered in the Moorhead school district, served on its human rights advisory committee, and was vice chair of Moorhead’s Human Rights Commission. Her political career began with her 2020 election to the Minnesota House of Representatives, where she has focused on education, human services, and Indigenous rights.