Jim Newberger

Education

Newberger attended St. Cloud State University, graduating with a B.A. in political science and mass communications.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Representative James Newberger was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2012. In April, 2015 Representative Newberger drew much criticism for statements made on the Minnesota State House Floor linking North Minneapolis to the St. Cloud Prison. "Right on the edge of St. Cloud, maybe a half a mile, a quarter-mile, from the rail tracks is the St. Cloud State Prison.... Boy, wouldn't that be convenient, to have that rail line going from that prison to North Minneapolis..." This drew boos from other members of the House. Governor Mark Dayton later called for the House Leadership to punish Representative Newberger. "I think [he] should be reprimanded, if not censured by his leadership" Dayton said. Shortly after the incident, Representative Newberger made a public apology, stating that he did not mean to offend anyone from the State of Minnesota, but to voice the concerns of the people in his district; He was not trying to classify any one set of people in his statement. Representative Newberger admitted that he should have used better wording to make his point known, and will continue to be aware and careful as to what he says in the future when trying to make the concerns of House District 15B known. Shortly thereafter, Newberger was reprimanded once again for arguably violating general separation of powers principles in attempting to use his position as an elected official to influence the outcome in a judicial proceeding involving a donor, who was in a dispute that resulted in a judgment against the donor in an amount close to $250,000.

Personal life

Newberger is married to his wife, Michele. They have three daughters and reside in Becker, Minnesota.