ROCHESTER, Minn. – An influential state senator, .Carla Nelson of Rocheste, has been diagnosed with breast cancer and cured. Nelson confirmed the diagnosis in a news release. Nelson said the cancer was found in December through early screening. She underwent a lumpectomy followed by three small doses of proton beam radiation. The cancer is gone, she said. Nelson, a Republican was first elected to the Legislature in 2002. After four terms in the House, she was elected to the Senate. Her current Senate term, her third, doesn’t expire until January 2025. Her age: 64.
Nelson profile
She holds degrees from Drake in special education and from the University of Minnesota in teaching leadership. She taught elementary and middle school in Rochester. With her husband she owns the investment and insurance company Olmsted Group. Her legislative focuses have been health care, commerce, higher education, and taxes. Nelson was has been an assistant Senate minority leader. In 2017 she sought the MN-1 Republican nomination for Congress. Jim Hagedorn won the GOP nomination with 76%. She is a member the University of Minnesota Citizens Advisory Council, the Rochester Music Guild. the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, and the Rochester Symphony.
Nelson. Her Senate District 26 she includes all of Rochester and spans west-east from Kasson to Dover to Kasson and north-south from Oronoco to Stewartville.