Betty A. Adkins (June 4, 1934 – October 29, 2001) was an American politician.

Betty A. Adkins
Minnesota State Senator
In office
1983–1995
Preceded byJohn Bernhagen
Succeeded byMark Ourada
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic Farmer Laborer
SpouseWallace "Wally" Adkins
Children6

From St. Michael, Minnesota, Adkins went to North Hennepin Community College and University of Minnesota. Later she served on the Minnesota State Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators, was on the Board of Adjustment for Wright County, and was a Certified Building Official for Otsego Township.[1]

Adkins served in the Minnesota State Senate as the senator from District 22 (Hennepin and Wright counties) from 1983 to 1992, and District 19 (Sherburne and Wright counties) from 1993 to 1995.[2] She was a member of the Democratic Farmer Laborer party of Minnesota.[3]

In early 1994 Adkins suffered a near-fatal car crash and announced her retirement from the state senate, planned for January 1, 1995.[4] This triggered a special election on November 8, 1994, which brought Mark Ourada into the Senate to fill out the remaining two years of her term.[5]

In 1995, the Minnesota Legislature designated the bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Otsego and Elk River the Betty Adkins Bridge.[6]

She died in Buffalo, Minnesota on October 29, 2001, from Alzheimer's disease.[7][8]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Adkins, Betty A. - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  2. ^ "Adkins, Betty A. - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  3. ^ "Adkins, Betty A. - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  4. ^ "Injured Adkins plans to leave state Senate". Star Tribune. May 17, 1994.
  5. ^ "Special elections for the Minnesota Legislature - Minnesota Legislative Reference Library". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  6. ^ Minnesota Statutes Annotated, Volume 12. West Group. 2008. pp. 190, 195.
  7. ^ 'Former Minnesota Sen. Betty Adkins dies,' Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 31, 2001
  8. ^ Minnesota Legislators Past and Present-Betty Adkins