Greg Boll
Encyclopedia
| Greg Boll | |
| Born | August 17, 1960 |
| Place of Birth | Benton Harbor, Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake".... |
| Profession | political activist real estate manager Property manager A property manager or estate manager is a person or firm charged with operating a real estate property for a fee, when the owner is unable to personally attend to such details, or is not interested in doing so... |
| Political Affiliation | Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party... |
| Years Active | 1982 – 1997 |
| Religious Affiliation | Lutheran |
| Alma Mater Alma mater Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:... |
Dr. Martin Luther College Worthington Community College University of Minnesota University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557... |
Greg Boll (born August 17, 1960) is a former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
(DFL Party). Boll was, somewhat unintentionally, one of the key players in the DFL Party’s “firestorm” that swept through southwestern Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
in the mid-1980s at the height of the Midwestern Farm Crisis. The party’s onslaught led to an unprecedented take-over of nearly all the legislative seats in southwestern Minnesota in the 1986 elections.
Dubbed the DFL’s “hatchet man
Hatchet man
A hatchet man was originally a pioneer or axeman serving in a US military unit. Towards the end of the 19th century, the phrase was used to describe a Chinese assassin who carried a handleless hatchet, which originated from New York's Doyers Street....
” by Minnesota Republicans
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
, Boll actively engaged the media to hammer away at the Republicans over what he maintained were their failed policies in rural America
Agriculture in the United States
Agriculture is a major industry in the United States and the country is a net exporter of food. As of the last census of agriculture in 2007, there were 2.2 million farms, covering an area of , an average of per farm.-History:...
, using the farm crisis as the basis for his attacks. He also supported the somewhat militant Groundswell
Groundswell
Groundswell is the first LP album by Parts & Labor, released in 2003 on JMZ Records. The album is entirely instrumental. The enhanced content features a video for the song "Intervention".-Track listing:#"It's Not the End of the World" – 0:34...
movement in its quest to bring political and social change
Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
on behalf of the region’s farmers. Utilizing a steady stream of scathing editorials and letters-to-the-editor in over thirty area newspapers, he made the case for change over the course of five election cycles, helping the DFL experience unprecedented success in the traditionally Republican small towns and rural communities of the region.
Youth and early activism in Southern Minnesota
According to some who knew him, Boll had a bit of a “bad boy” reputation early on—a reputation he later channeled successfully into brash, no-nonsense political change. Growing up in Minnesota and WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, his conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
religious background and schooling at a Lutheran college in New Ulm
New Ulm, Minnesota
New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,522 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brown County....
served as the contrasting catalyst for the more liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
views he displayed once he became active in the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
While in college, Boll worked with Rudy Perpich
Rudy Perpich
Rudolph George "Rudy" Perpich, Sr. was an American politician and the longest-serving governor of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the 34th and 36th Governor of Minnesota from December 29, 1976 to January 4, 1979, and from January 3, 1983, to January 7, 1991...
’s 1982 gubernatorial
Governor of Minnesota
The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
campaign and with Mark Dayton
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton is an American politician, the 40th and current Governor of the state of Minnesota. Dayton previously served as United States Senator from Minnesota from 2001 to 2007 in the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses...
’s bid for the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
against incumbent Senator Dave Durenberger
David Durenberger
David Ferdinand Durenberger is an American politician and a former Republican member of the U.S. Senate from Minnesota.- Early life :...
. Briefly managing a state senate
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...
campaign in the New Ulm
New Ulm, Minnesota
New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,522 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brown County....
area for former New Ulm mayor and state representative Tony Eckstein
Tony Eckstein
Anton Joseph “Tony” or “A. J.”Eckstein was a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from southwestern Minnesota. First elected in 1970, Eckstein was re-elected in 1972, 1974 and 1976...
, he later moved to Worthington
Worthington, Minnesota
Worthington is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 12,764 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nobles County.The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, St...
, where he worked as administrator and later chief of a security agency and became active in the community as a church youth leader and a member of several local boards. He quickly gained the attention of area Democrats through his editorials in the region's newspapers.
Implementing the DFL "Firestorm" of 1986
Touted as bringing a younger voice to the DFL, Boll quickly rose through the ranks to become a party leader and “whiz kid” of sorts. In 1985 he was named to fill a vacancy as party secretaryParty secretary
In politics, a party secretary is a senior official within a political party with responsibility for the organizational and daily political work. In most parties, the party secretary is second in rank to the party leader ....
for the old 2nd Congressional District
Minnesota's 2nd congressional district
Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district covers the south Twin Cities metro area and contains all of Carver, Scott, Le Sueur, Goodhue and Rice Counties. It also contains most of Dakota County and south Washington County including the cities of Cottage Grove and the southern part of Woodbury...
, a sprawling 31-county area. He was subsequently elected to the position four times. In that role, he helped promote candidates for the congressional seat held by Republican Vin Weber
Vin Weber
John Vincent Weber is a former Republican Congressman from Minnesota. Weber attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities from 1970 to 1974. He had been the co-publisher of Murray County newspaper and the president of Weber Publishing Company...
—among them Dave Johnson, Todd Lundquist and, later, David Minge
David Minge
David R. Minge is an American Judge and former political figure. David Minge currently serves as a Judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals...
. The following year he was asked by the Minnesota House
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
and Senate
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...
DFL caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
es to be their point man for finding and recruiting candidates to run for the various legislative seats in the area.
For his own legislative district, Boll quickly allied with Jim Vickerman
Jim Vickerman
James Murray "Jim" Vickerman is a politician from Minnesota and a former Minnesota State Senator, first elected in 1986 in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's "firestorm" that swept southwestern Minnesota during the height of the 1980s Midwestern farm crisis. In that election, he...
, a Murray County
Murray County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,165 people, 3,722 households, and 2,601 families residing in the county. The population density was 13 people per square mile . There were 4,357 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
commissioner and farmer, whom he pushed to run for the state senate in District 28 (which became District 22 after the 1992 legislative redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
) against incumbent Senator Doran Isackson
Doran Isackson
Doran L. Isackson was a Republican politician from Minnesota and a Minnesota State Senator. Elected in 1982, Isackson served one term from 1983 to 1987...
. At the time, the large district included all or portions of Brown
Brown County, Minnesota
Brown County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 25,893. Its county seat is New Ulm.-Geography:...
, Cottonwood
Cottonwood County, Minnesota
Cottonwood County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 11,687. Its county seat is Windom.-History:...
, Jackson
Jackson County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,268 people, 4,556 households, and 3,116 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile . There were 5,092 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
, Martin
Martin County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 21,802 people, 9,067 households, and 6,047 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile . There were 9,800 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile...
, Murray
Murray County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,165 people, 3,722 households, and 2,601 families residing in the county. The population density was 13 people per square mile . There were 4,357 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
, Nobles
Nobles County, Minnesota
Nobles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 21,378. Its county seat is Worthington.-Geography:...
, Redwood
Redwood County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,815 people, 6,674 households, and 4,524 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile . There were 7,230 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
and Watonwan
Watonwan County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,876 people, 4,627 households, and 3,141 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 5,036 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
counties. Taking on the role of manager
Campaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
of the campaign, he proceeded to carve out a detailed strategy and format that quickly became a model for other legislative campaign structures in Greater Minnesota.
Boll’s campaign management
Campaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
style was similar to his personal approach in taking on the Republicans, relying significantly on an all-out “blitz” that consisted of constant visibility and development of name recognition in the news media, on the radio, in signage, in literature and in billboards through “branding”
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
of the Vickerman name. He also implemented multiple literature drops to and door-knocking of every home in the district, and generated a steady flow of press releases on issues relevant to local residents that were distributed to area media outlets. Multiple fundraiser
Fundraiser
A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...
s, or “bean feeds,” as they were often called, were held in each county in the district, as were driving tours during which the candidate would randomly stop in the “Main Street
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
” cafes and downtown businesses of the various communities around the district to visit with residents. The campaign also actively linked with other DFL campaigns to promote a unified wall of new voices for the region. The strategy worked in spades, with DFL candidates, including Vickerman, solidly trouncing their opponents in nearly every legislative district in southwestern Minnesota in what came to be called the DFL “firestorm” of 1986.
Okabena Towers incident
A recollection of the 1986 campaigns in southwestern Minnesota merits comment on a bizarre incident that took place the evening before election dayElection Day (United States)
Election Day in the United States is the day set by law for the general elections of public officials. It occurs on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The earliest possible date is November 2 and the latest possible date is November 8...
. Wrapping up the campaign on November 3, Boll, Jim Vickerman and several campaign workers hung literature for DFL candidates on the doors of the residents of the Okabena Towers, a high rise housing complex for seniors in Worthington. After finishing the top floors of the building, one of the campaign workers walked back through one of the lower floors and noticed that all the DFL literature was missing from the doors and, in their place, were brochures for Senator Doran Isackson
Doran Isackson
Doran L. Isackson was a Republican politician from Minnesota and a Minnesota State Senator. Elected in 1982, Isackson served one term from 1983 to 1987...
, Vickerman's opponent. The worker found Boll, Vickerman and the manager of the building and advised them. They walked back through the upper floors and came upon Isackson removing the DFL literature from the doors, putting it in a folder and replacing it with his own. Boll approached and confronted Isackson, who then ran down one of the side stairwells of the building, with Boll and others in pursuit. When he reached the main floor, Isackson exited the building, ran toward and got into his vehicle. Boll ran to the driver’s side of the vehicle and asked Isackson to roll down the window so he could speak with him. Isackson locked the doors, started the vehicle and rapidly drove it in reverse down the street.
In the meantime, the building manager contacted the local police. Isackson was stopped for speeding on the way out of town, but the officer, unaware of the call in to the police at that point, warned and released him. An officer came to the Okabena Towers, took statements from Boll, Vickerman, the campaign workers and the building manager. Isackson was subsequently contacted by the police at his home in Storden
Storden, Minnesota
Storden is a city in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 219 at the 2010 census. The town was founded in 1903 and named in honor of its first settler, Nels Storden, an immigrant from Norway.-Geography:...
and advised that the matter would be turned over to the local prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
. In the meantime, Vickerman requested that the matter be kept quiet until after the election so as not to be a factor in the outcome.
News of the occurrence soon broke in the media and drew attention throughout the state. Isackson was subsequently charged with theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, but the prosecutor agreed to dismiss the charges provided he would write an apology letter to area residents, to be printed in newspapers throughout the district. Once printed, Isackson’s letter proved to be a rambling diatribe
Diatribe
Diatribe is the name of a weekly column by Greek-Australian journalist, poet and lawyer Dean Kalimniou appearing in the Melbourne Greek language newspaper Neos Kosmos since 2001...
that expressed his sense of frustration and feeling of being overwhelmed by the intensity of the campaign that Boll, Vickerman and other Democrats had waged against him, stating that, no matter where he turned, all he heard or read about was how bad his voting record was, and how he had failed the district as a senator. This sentiment was echoed, albeit less openly, by other defeated Republicans in the region.
Party leadership
In 1987, Boll ran for party chairParty Chair
In politics, a party chair is the presiding officer of a political party....
of the legislative district, facing opposition from area farmer and political activist Andrew Olson, a staunch supporter of the somewhat radical activist Lyndon LaRouche
Lyndon LaRouche
Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche, Jr. is an American political activist and founder of a network of political committees, parties, and publications known collectively as the LaRouche movement...
, founder of the LaRouche movement
LaRouche movement
The LaRouche movement is an international political and cultural network that promotes Lyndon LaRouche and his ideas. It has included scores of organizations and companies around the world. Their activities include campaigning, private intelligence gathering, and publishing numerous periodicals,...
. Boll won the race handily and was subsequently re-elected to the post three times. He also became active at the state level as a member of the Minnesota DFL’s central and executive committees.
In 1988, Boll allied early on with U.S. Senator Paul Simon
Paul Simon (politician)
Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
in his bid for the presidency, serving as state coordinator for the campaign and arranging for visits by the senator to Minnesota and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, including a stop in Boll’s home town of Worthington. He also made the rounds on Simon’s behalf, appearing on TV stations in Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
and Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. When Simon later withdrew from the race as Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
’ governor Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
took the forefront, he set his sights on other goals, serving several years on the Minnesota Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, to which he was appointed by Governor Perpich
Rudy Perpich
Rudolph George "Rudy" Perpich, Sr. was an American politician and the longest-serving governor of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the 34th and 36th Governor of Minnesota from December 29, 1976 to January 4, 1979, and from January 3, 1983, to January 7, 1991...
, and on the Minnesota General Crime Advisory Council, to which he was appointed by Corrections Commissioner Orville Pung.
Boll ran for party secretary of the Minnesota DFL in 1989, but was defeated by party activist Rick Stafford, who went on to become the state party chair just two years later. Boll’s pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
stance on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, his support of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, and his opposition to the more liberal ideology of Twin Cities’ Democrats rankled urban party leaders and ensured his defeat.
Move to the Twin Cities and post-activism
In 1993, Boll moved to the Twin Cities to continue his work with a real estateReal estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
and property management
Property management
Property management is the operation, control of ususally on behalf of an owner, and oversight of commercial, industrial or residential real estate as used in its most broad terms. Management indicates a need to be cared for, monitored and accountability given for its usable life and condition...
company that specialized in student and market rate housing. He briefly served as a party officer for the 4th Congressional District
Minnesota's 4th congressional district
Minnesota's 4th congressional district covers Ramsey County including all of St. Paul and several St. Paul suburbs. The district is solidly Democratic with a CPVI of D + 13. It is currently represented by Betty McCollum, of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.-List of...
DFL, which encompasses Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
and the surrounding suburbs.
Having previously supported former U.S. Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
Tom Berg in his bid for the DFL’s endorsement for the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
against Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
, Boll again allied with Berg in his bid for the party’s endorsement for the U.S. Senate against Ann Wynia
Ann Wynia
Ann Wynia is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and former president of North Hennepin Community College.-Early life and education:...
in 1994, and was named 2nd Congressional District
Minnesota's 2nd congressional district
Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district covers the south Twin Cities metro area and contains all of Carver, Scott, Le Sueur, Goodhue and Rice Counties. It also contains most of Dakota County and south Washington County including the cities of Cottage Grove and the southern part of Woodbury...
Coordinator for the campaign. When Berg withdrew from the race after Wynia won the endorsement, he laid low and never endorsed Wynia. He turned his energies briefly to involvement with several Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
organizations that promoted social change
Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
and helped homeless
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
and troubled inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
youth.
Health problems plagued Boll in the mid 1990s, culminating in his hospitalization for several weeks in 1997. While he subsequently recovered, he abruptly disappeared from the Minnesota political scene around that time and has not been involved since. He is believed to still live in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.