Biography/History

DuWayne Johnsrud was born on September 4, 1943 in Boscobel, Wisconsin to Gordon and Louise Johnsrud. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1963 to 1970. He received his BS degree in 1970 from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse and owns a dairy farm in Eastman, Wisconsin. Before being elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1984, he was a member of the Crawford County Board of Supervisors and the Eastman and Prairie du Chien school boards. While in the Assembly he held the following biennial committee assignments:

2003	Natural Resources (chairperson 1995-2004)
2003	Public health (vice chairperson, member 2001)
2003	Health (1985-2004)
2003	Rural Affairs
2001	Environment (vice chairperson, also 1999, member 1997)
2001	Low-Level Radioactive Waste Council (1995-2004)
1999	Conservation and Land use
1997	Consumer Affairs (vice chairperson, member 1993)
1997	Utilities Oversight (vice chairperson)
1997	Legislative Council Committee on Conservation Laws Enforcement
1995	Urban and Local Affairs (member 1987-2004)
1995	State-Federal Relations
1995	Legislative Advisory Committee to the Minnesota-Wisconsin Area Boundary Commission (1989-2004)
1995	Legislative Council Committee on the Recodification of Fish and Game Laws (chairperson)
1993	Legislative Council Committee on Electronic Benefit Transfer Systems
1991	Children and Human Services (1985-2004)
1991	Rural Affairs
1991	Special Committee on Reform of Health Insurance
1991	Legislative Council Committee on Genetic and Medical Information

DuWayne Johnsrud's politics often reflected those of his rural constituents. He was a Republican who supported the rights of hunters and gun owners, and opposed the interference of government on the lives of the people. His conservative social values are evident in such efforts as to have nude bathing at the Mazomanie beach declared “obscene and indecent;” however, he was also the only Republican who voted against the anti-gay Sanctity of Marriage bill. He has described himself as a moderate and a progressive and often went against the leaders of his party. While a practicing Catholic, he supported stem-cell research and criticized the Bishop who said that politicians who voted against Catholic doctrine should be refused the sacraments. He worked, unsuccessfully, with then assemblywoman Tammy Baldwin to make the Wisconsin Constitution “gender neutral.” He fought to end mandatory overtime for workers in the health care industry, most of whom are women. He also had a reputation as a tireless fighter for the interests of his constituents.

His most significant contributions came from his role as the chairperson of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee from 1993 to 2004. It is evident from reading his papers that Johnsrud considered himself to be an environmentalist, and that his positions were shaped by his contact with the natural world as a farmer and hunter. Consequently, his greatest efforts were in the areas of land use, water pollution, and wildlife preservation. He worked to protect rivers by limiting non-point source pollution, introducing legislation to mandate double hulls on all Mississippi river barges.

As an avid hunter he worked to protect the environment and opposed practices such as attracting deer to a spot by spreading food as bait. He considered this practice to be antithetical to good sportsmanship and contributing to the spread of diseases among the state's deer herd. He worked to extend the rights of people with disabilities to hunt using crossbows and laser sights, but also supported the rights of property owners to keep hunters from trespassing on their land without permission.

He attracted the greatest amount of attention in his career when he proposed legislation that would legalize hunting of mourning doves, which had been designated as the official state bird of peace a few years earlier. He even invited several journalists to a dove dinner. “It really does taste like chicken,” one of them quipped afterwards.

While DuWayne Johnsrud may not have been the most powerful or influential member of the state legislature, he was certainly one of the most colorful. He enjoyed a cordial relationship with the press, was always willing to give interviews, and could be counted on to provide a quotable remark. Once when asked to comment on efforts to protect rattlesnakes he said, “We've been working very hard to make them extinct.” Because of this warm relationship, everything he did was widely reported in the press. He stated that his budget did not permit him to send frequent letters to his constituents, so he used the press to communicate to the people in his district. The extensive collection of press clippings gives a complete documentation of his political activities.

The large percentage of constituent mail in this collection demonstrates that no legislation is created in a vacuum. Johnsrud's activities served as a lightning rod for all shades of public opinion. Many letters begin with a long description of the writer's situation and how that person thinks the legislation in question will change his life. One letter written in response to his bill to legalize dove hunting said, “I am a Catholic nun and to me hunting a dove would be like shooting a gun at the Holy Spirit.”

Newspaper stories written at the time of his retirement spoke of his disagreements with the leadership of the Wisconsin Republican Party. He is quoted as complaining that the party had been hijacked by right-wing ideologues and that he could not support their agenda, which he described in typical fashion as “Bovine Crapola.” He took several positions that were at variance with that of the party leadership, such as voting against the Defense of Marriage amendment. None of these conflicts are documented in the collection.