1. Richard Michael Nolan was an American politician and businessman who served as the US representative from Minnesota's 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2019.
39 Facts About Rick Nolan
1. 2.
Rick Nolan previously served as the US representative from Minnesota's 6th congressional district between 1975 and 1981 and was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1969 until 1973.
3.
On February 9,2018, Rick Nolan announced he would retire from Congress at the end of his current term.
4.
Rick Nolan ran for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota as the running mate of Attorney General of Minnesota Lori Swanson in the 2018 gubernatorial election.
5.
Rick Nolan was born in Brainerd, Minnesota, and graduated from Brainerd High School in 1962.
6.
Rick Nolan was enrolled in the Army ROTC program for two years, from 1962 to 1964.
7.
Rick Nolan pursued postgraduate work in public administration and policy formation at the University of Maryland, College Park, and in education at St Cloud State University.
8.
Rick Nolan was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1968 and served two terms, representing House District 53A.
9.
Rick Nolan then ran unsuccessfully for Minnesota's 6th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1972, but was elected in his second run in 1974 to the 94th Congress and reelected to the 95th and the 96th.
10.
Rick Nolan decided not to run for reelection in 1980, and served as president of the US Export Corporation until 1986, and was later appointed to and became president of the Minnesota World Trade Center, a private-public initiative, by then-Democratic Party chairman Governor Rudy Perpich from 1987 to 1994.
11.
Rick Nolan is the former owner of Emily Wood Products, a small sawmill and pallet factory in the northern Minnesota community of Emily.
12.
Rick Nolan announced his candidacy for the US House of Representatives on July 12,2011, challenging incumbent Chip Cravaack in Minnesota's 8th congressional district.
13.
Rick Nolan won the Democratic primary in August 2012, defeating Tarryl Clark and Jeff Anderson.
14.
Rick Nolan defeated Cravaack, 191,976 to 160,520, to return to Congress after a 32-year absence.
15.
Rick Nolan was challenged by Republican nominee Stewart Mills III.
16.
Rick Nolan was targeted by Americans for Prosperity over his support of the Affordable Care Act.
17.
Rick Nolan was successful in his close re-election bid, defeating Mills 129,090 to 125,358.
18.
Rick Nolan faced Mills in a rematch and narrowly defeated him again, by a vote of 179,097 to 177,088.
19.
Rick Nolan said that he supported the Second Amendment but believed there should be some restrictions on gun ownership.
20.
In January 2013, Rick Nolan called the assault weapon ban, which expired in 2004, common sense legislation, saying he didn't need an assault weapon to kill a duck.
21.
Rick Nolan voiced opposition to the proposed route of the Enbridge Sandpiper pipeline, saying it posed environmental risks to vulnerable wetlands and drinking water in northern Minnesota.
22.
Rick Nolan voted against an amendment requiring a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certification that necessary protections have been put in place.
23.
Rick Nolan said that the "super-rich" in particular should be targeted for tax increases.
24.
Rick Nolan voiced support for the stimulus spending championed by President Obama.
25.
On October 1,2013, Rick Nolan introduced a bill that would withhold the pay of members of Congress during a government shutdown, in response to the shutdown that had gone into effect that morning.
26.
Rick Nolan supported the Affordable Care Act and said he would not vote to repeal it.
27.
Rick Nolan was a strong supporter of single-payer health care and believed it should be the ultimate goal of the Affordable Care Act.
28.
Rick Nolan was one of four members of Congress to vote against the 2014 Veterans Affairs appropriations bill.
29.
In 2014, Rick Nolan urged President Obama to resist further military intervention in both Syria and Iraq.
30.
Rick Nolan visited Cuba along with President Barack Obama in March 2016.
31.
Rick Nolan voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which prohibits abortions after 20 weeks.
32.
In February 2013, Nolan introduced a constitutional amendment designed to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United v FEC case that dealt with the regulation of campaign spending by organizations.
33.
In 2015, Rick Nolan joined Democratic US Representatives Keith Ellison, Mark Pocan, Matt Cartwright, Jared Huffman and Raul Grijalva as co-sponsors of legislation calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the US Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.
34.
Rick Nolan sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and four of its Subcommittees: Highways and Transit; Aviation; Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management; and Water Resources and the Environment.
35.
Rick Nolan serves on the House Agriculture Committee and two of its Subcommittees: Conservation, Energy and Forestry, and Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit.
36.
Rick Nolan had previously served on the House Small Business Committee and the House Agriculture Committee; his previous appointments would have earned him some Committee Seniority on these committees that he had already served on in the 94th, 95th and 96th Congresses.
37.
Rick Nolan endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic US presidential primary election.
38.
Rick Nolan was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Climate Solutions Caucus, the Congressional Arts Caucus, and the United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus.
39.
On October 18,2024, it was announced that Rick Nolan died from a heart condition at his home in Nisswa, Minnesota, at the age of 80.