Rick McCluhan, who led the Minnesota Independence Party when Jesse Ventura was governor, died early Friday at his rural Mankato home.

The cause of death is not known, but McCluhan suffered from heart disease. He was 50.

Ventura said through his spokesman, John Wodele: "I wish every citizen in this country had the passion that Rick had for politics. If they did, we would have a much better government."

McCluhan, a Mankato business owner, led the party -- and its forerunner, the Reform Party -- when it was riding high, from 1999 to 2001. In early 2000, Ventura and McCluhan split from the Reform Party dominated by Ross Perot and formed the Minnesota Independence Party.

Jim Moore of Minneapolis, a former chairman of the Minnesota Independence Party and a U.S. Senate candidate in 2002, said McCluhan was a straight shooter who had his finger on the pulse of the independent voter.

"He was very personable, said Moore. "Getting to know people, connecting people -- that was his thing."

In March 2000, he acknowledged settling two sexual harassment cases brought against him in 1993 and 1998, but said people were publicizing the settlements in an attempt to smear him or the Reform Party.

McCluhan stepped down from the helm of the Independence Party in 2001, but he continued to be active in the party in the Mankato area.

For most of his business career, he worked as a personnel professional. Since 1986, he operated Express Personnel Services, a temp agency in North Mankato. And since 1982, he led Richard McCluhan and Associates, a consulting firm on workers compensation and Social Security disability cases. He often served as an expert witness in the courts.

He was a graduate of Park Rapids High School and a 1979 graduate of Mankato State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business.

He is survived by his wife, Joni, and sons Neil, Anthony and Joseph, all of Mankato.

Services will be held on Tuesday, at a time yet to be determined, at St. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church, 105 N. 5th St., Mankato.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Woodland Hills Funeral Home, 1605 Woodland Av., Mankato.