Melissa Halvorson Wiklund

Melissa Halvorson Wiklund was born in 1962 and is a Minnesota politician representing District 51 in the Minnesota Senate. A member of the *Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party *, she represents the southern Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Bloomington and Richfield, as well as parts of Minneapolis.

Wiklund was raised in Bloomington, Minnesota, and graduated from Kennedy High School. She is married and has two adult children, all residing in Bloomington. Before her career in public service, she worked in the telecommunications and internet services industry as an engineer and director.

Education

Wiklund attended the University of Minnesota, where she graduated with a B.E.E. and a degree in interior design in 1991.

Political Experience

Senate Service

Wiklund was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2012 and has since been re-elected in 2016, 2020, and 2022. She initially represented District 50 from 2013 to 2022 before representing the newly configured District 51 beginning in 2023. Her current term extends through January 3, 2027.

Prior Service

Before her election to the Senate, Wiklund served on the Bloomington School Board for three years, beginning in 2009. She became chair of the school board and chaired the Legislative and Superintendent Evaluation Committees while also participating on the Labor Management Committee.

Legislative Focus and Achievements

Wiklund's legislative priorities include education, health care, and job creation. She serves as Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and also serves on the Finance Committee, the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, and the Human Services Committee.

Among her notable legislative accomplishments, Wiklund is the Senate author of the MinnesotaCare buy-in plan bill and the Minnesota Health Plan bill. She also played a key role in passing and implementing the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act and has focused on strengthening access to health care for Minnesota's children.

Wiklund has announced that she will retire from the Minnesota Senate at the end of her current term in 2026.