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[Pages S5552-S5553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 687--HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF COYA KNUTSON
Ms. SMITH (for herself and Ms. Klobuchar) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Res. 687
Whereas Cornelia Genevive Gjesdal ``Coya'' Knutson was born
on August 22, 1912, in Edmore, North Dakota;
Whereas Coya Gjesdal graduated from Concordia College in
Moorhead, Minnesota, with majors in English and Music and a
minor in Education;
Whereas Coya Gjesdal married Andy Knutson in 1940 and later
adopted a son;
Whereas Coya Knutson was involved in her community, working
as a teacher, volunteering, establishing a medical clinic,
and serving on the Red Lake County Welfare Board;
Whereas Coya Knutson was elected to the House of
Representatives of Minnesota in 1950;
Whereas State Representative Knutson supported health and
education initiatives and sponsored the first clean air bill
in Minnesota, which prohibited smoking in some public places;
[[Page S5553]]
Whereas, in 1954, Coya Knutson won a seat in the House of
Representatives of the United States, despite having lost the
nomination of her party to a man;
Whereas Coya Knutson became the first woman elected to
Congress from Minnesota;
Whereas Congresswoman Knutson became the first woman to be
appointed to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives;
Whereas Congresswoman Knutson sponsored legislation that
eventually led to expanded school lunch assistance, the first
Federal student loan program, and the first appropriations
for research on cystic fibrosis;
Whereas Congresswoman Knutson's husband did not support her
career and reportedly wrote a public letter in 1958 ordering
her to return to Minnesota to ``make a home for [her] son and
husband'';
Whereas the story of the letter was taken up by the
national press, with newspapers across the United States
running the headline ``Coya, Come Home'';
Whereas Coya Knutson lost reelection in 1958 to a man whose
campaign slogan was ``A Big Man for a Man-Sized Job'';
Whereas Coya Knutson eventually divorced her husband, moved
permanently to Washington, DC, and was appointed by President
Kennedy to be the liaison officer in the Office of Civil
Defense at the Department of Defense, where she served until
1970;
Whereas Coya Knutson retired from politics and moved back
to Minnesota to live with her son and his family until her
death in 1996 at 82 years of age; and
Whereas Coya Knutson was a trailblazer and an inspiration
who was devoted to her community, State, and country: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate honors the life and legacy of
Coya Knutson, whose dedication to overcoming exceptional odds
and devotion to the well-being of the United States shall
serve as an inspiration for generations of individuals in the
United States.
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