U.S., Minnesota lose a leader

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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David Durenberger, the former Republican U.S. senator from Minnesota who died on Tuesday at 88, told Minnesota Public Radio in 2014 that, "You are going to be remembered for all those relationships, built one person at a time, one incident at a time, one problem at a time, one challenge at a time."

On that basis, Minnesotans should remember Durenberger well.

By building bipartisan relationships, Durenberger helped people across the country, especially in health care, as highlighted by his leadership in passing the Americans with Disabilities Act. That landmark legislation from 1990 improved the lives of countless Americans.

"He was so proud of that," his son Dave told the Star Tribune. And rightly so.

True to contending with "one problem at a time, one challenge at a time," Durenberger also will be remembered for facing a speaking-fee and travel-reimbursement scandal that resulted in a unanimous Senate censure and a guilty plea for misuse of public funds.

True to form, he did just that. For the remainder of his term (he did not seek re-election in 1994) and in his years of public service afterward, when the Army veteran chaired health commissions and boards and served as a senior health policy fellow at the University of St. Thomas.

Durenberger served in a more gentle and even genteel Senate era, which reflected his bridge-building nature. Out of office, he continued advocating for more moderate approaches to politics and policy, an ethos that reflected Durenberger himself.

"In this grand democracy, government is not a nuisance, not an evil force," Durenberger said at an event last August. "People elect public servants. I learned from my family, from my education at St. John's, and in all the years since then, the shared value of civic engagement."