Minnesota Farmers Union congratulates Colleen Landkamer

Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) congratulates Colleen Landkamer, who was namedUSDA State Director of Rural Developmentin Minnesota by the Biden-Harris administration.

“We welcome Colleen back to a familiar role at USDA Rural Development,” said MFU President Gary Wertish. “We worked with Colleen when she was State Director during the Obama administration. She is a dedicated public servant who has been an effective advocate for counties and rural areas on the national stage. We look forward to working with her to grow rural Minnesota’s economy.”

Landkamer was first elected to the Blue Earth County Board of Commissioners in 1988. In 2009, she was appointed by President Obama to serve as USDA Rural Development State Director for Minnesota. Following her eight-year appointment, Landkamer was re-elected to the Blue Earth County Board in 2019.

Landkamer has brought the concerns of counties to the national stage since her involvement in forming the National Association of Counties Rural Action Caucus (RAC) in 1998. Landkamer’s enthusiasm for RAC helped take it from an organization of 20 members to several hundred. In 2006 and 2007, Landkamer served as President of the National Association of Counties (NACo) and has also served on NACo’s executive board since 2002. Landkamer is a past president of the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC).