Background
Blatnik, John A. was born on August 17, 1911 in Chisholm, Minnesota, United States. Son of John and Margaret (Kochevar) Blatnik.
politician representative teacher
Blatnik, John A. was born on August 17, 1911 in Chisholm, Minnesota, United States. Son of John and Margaret (Kochevar) Blatnik.
Bachelor of Engineering cum laude, Winona State Teachers College, 1935; student, University Chicago, summer 1938; postgraduate in public administration, University of Minnesota, 1941-1942.
From 1940 to 1944, he served in the Minnesota State Senate and volunteered to serve in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942. While in the Army Air Corps (the predecessor to the Air Force), he was chief of the Office of Strategic Services"s mission with Tito"s Yugoslav partisans for almost a year. In 1946, Blatnik was elected to Congress representing Minnesota"s 8th District in the northeastern part of the state, running on the newly unified ticket of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
He was reelected 13 times without much difficulty.
He served in the 80th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 91st, 92nd, and 93rd congresses, (January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1975). John Blatnik was one of the congressmen that voted against the Civil Rights Acting of 1964.
Blatnik was an early supporter of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and helped develop the original legislation to build lieutenant He served as chairman of the Public Works Committee (now known as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) during his last two terms in Congress.
As chairman, he shepherded the Federal Water Pollution Control Acting, better known as the Clean Water Acting, to passage in 1972.
The bridge for Interstate 535 crossing the Superior Bay and the Saint Louis Bay between Wisconsin and Minnesota was renamed the John A. Blatnik Bridge in his honor on September 24, 1971. In 1955, Blatnik married the former Gisela Hager. They had three children.
Blatnik died in Forest Heights, Maryland on December 17, 1991.
Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Democratic Party.
Co-founder, past chairman Democratic Study Committee. Former chairman N.E. Minnesota Rehabilitation Committee, 1940-1942, Minnesota Democratic national committeeman, 1962-1972. Chairman Minnesota delegation Democratic National Convention, 1968.
Active Boy Scouts American With Intelligence and Office Strategic Superior vena cava syndrome, United States Army Air Force, 1946. Member Veterans of Foreign Wars, Minnesota American-Jugoslav Association (state president 1939-1941), Izaak Walton League, American Legion, American Veterans Committee, Kappa Delta Pi.
Married Gisela Hager, April 9, 1955. Children: Thomas, Sephanie, Valerie.