Jamie Becker-Finn facts for kids

Jamie Becker-Finn (born October 20, 1982) is an American politician who served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2025. The House of Representatives is one of the two groups of lawmakers that make up the Minnesota state government.

As a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented District 42B. This area is in the northeastern part of the Twin Cities and includes the cities of Roseville and Shoreview.

Early Life and Education

Jamie Becker-Finn grew up in Cass Lake, Minnesota, on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. Her father, Harold "Skip" Finn, was also a Minnesota state senator and was of Ojibwe and Norwegian heritage. Her mother, Teri, is also of Norwegian descent.

After high school, Becker-Finn went to the University of Minnesota and earned a degree in psychology. She then went to law school at the William Mitchell College of Law to become a lawyer.

Before being elected, Becker-Finn worked as an assistant attorney for Hennepin County, where she focused on cases of domestic violence. She also worked for the Minnesota House Tax Committee and was a member of the Roseville Parks and Recreation Commission. In 2022, she opened a coffee shop called Makwa Coffee in Roseville.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Becker-Finn was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016. She decided to run after the person holding the position, Jason Isaacson, chose to run for the Minnesota Senate instead.

During her time in office, Becker-Finn was the chair of the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee. This committee deals with laws related to the court system and people's legal rights. She was also a member of several other important committees, including those focused on public safety and the environment.

Working for Safer Communities

After the death of George Floyd in 2020, Becker-Finn pushed for new laws to address problems in policing. She also called for changes in how police handle traffic stops after the death of Daunte Wright. She wrote a law to stop people from losing their driver's licenses for small offenses.

Becker-Finn also worked to get more funding for public defenders. These are lawyers who represent people who cannot afford to hire their own. She also supported restoring the right to vote for people who have been released from prison. To promote gun safety, she wrote a law requiring gun owners to store their firearms in a locked container when not being used.

Making Workplaces Respectful

In 2017, Becker-Finn worked with other lawmakers to address the problem of inappropriate behavior at the state capitol. She called for a special group to be created to find better ways to handle these issues. She argued for stronger rules and for investigations to be done by a neutral group, not by the political party in power.

Protecting the Environment

Becker-Finn has worked on many issues to protect Minnesota's natural resources. She is an avid hunter and has led efforts to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer. CWD is a serious illness that affects deer populations. She pushed for stronger rules for deer farms to prevent the disease from spreading.

She also opposed the Line 3 oil pipeline project because of its potential impact on tribal lands and the environment. She wrote a bill to give the state more power to penalize companies that violate water permits.

Becker-Finn also worked on laws to:

• Ban harmful PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam.
• Create the "No Child Left Inside" program to give more kids, especially from disadvantaged communities, a chance to enjoy the outdoors.
• Address water pollution from tiny plastics, lead, and salt.

Supporting Native American Communities

As a descendant of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Becker-Finn has been a strong voice for Native American issues. In 2019, she supported renaming Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis to its original Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska.

She also worked on a law that requires the state to offer to sell land back to a tribe if that land is within the tribe's reservation. She has spoken out against the use of offensive Native American images in costumes and sports mascots.

Electoral history

Personal Life

Becker-Finn and her husband, Gabe, live in Roseville, Minnesota. They have two children. She is a lifelong hunter and fisher.