# Carol Molnau *American politician; Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota (2003–2011) and Minnesota Department of Transportation commissioner* Carol Molnau (born September 17, 1949) held the office of [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]] from 2003 to 2011, the 46th person to do so.[^1] A native of [[Carver County, Minnesota]], she won a seat in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] in 1992 and held it for five terms.[^1] She did not seek another House term after selling her farm to developers, a sale that meant she would no longer live in the area she represented.[^1] She then joined the ticket of [[Tim Pawlenty]] and was elected lieutenant governor in 2002 and again in 2006.[^1] As of 2026, no Republican has been elected to the office since.[^1] In the Pawlenty administration she was also commissioner of the [[Minnesota Department of Transportation]] (MnDOT).[^1] In that post she opposed state funding for mass transit in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.[^1] After the 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in [[Minneapolis]], legislators questioned her record as commissioner.[^2] On February 28, 2008, the [[Minnesota Senate]] removed her from the post on a 44–22 party-line vote.[^2] This article rests on a single source, the Wikipedia article on Molnau, which is not a primary source.[^1] Its claims are reported as that article states them; the pack holds no official document against which they have been checked.[^1] ## Legislative service Before entering the legislature, Molnau farmed in [[Chaska]].[^3] She also spent four years on the city council there.[^3] In the 1992 House race she unseated Larry Bodahl, a DFL member who had served one term.[^3] Bodahl, a former mayor of [[Waconia]], had won the seat from longtime representative K.J. McDonald.[^3] In the House she moved into the leadership.[^3] She was Assistant Minority Leader for the 1997–1998 session.[^3] She was then Assistant Majority Leader for the 1999–2000 and 2001–2002 sessions.[^3] Beginning in 1999 she chaired the House Transportation Finance committee.[^3] ## Confirmation as MnDOT commissioner In March 2004 the Senate Transportation Committee voted to remove Molnau as MnDOT commissioner.[^4] Some members said she lacked vision for the state's transportation needs.[^4] The full [[Minnesota Senate]] afterward confirmed her.[^4] During summer 2005, rumors held that Pawlenty would replace her on the 2006 ticket.[^4] The reported cause was chiefly a difference between the two over state funding for the planned [[Northstar commuter rail]] line between [[St. Cloud]] and the Twin Cities.[^4] Pawlenty denied the rumors on August 1, 2005.[^4] Molnau stayed on the ticket and won re-election on November 7, 2006.[^4] In January 2007 there was a renewed push to remove her.[^4] As part of it, Senator Steve Murphy said that under her the state's transportation infrastructure was "crumbling."[^4] ## State Highway 62 In 2006 Molnau sought bids for a large reconstruction of Minnesota State Highway 62 and Interstate 35W.[^5] Her office's terms required contractors to finance the work as it proceeded.[^5] The state would reimburse them over the life of the project.[^5] No bids were received.[^5] The project was set aside until new funding sources were arranged roughly a year later.[^5] ## I-35W bridge collapse The I-35W bridge over the [[Mississippi River]] in Minneapolis collapsed in 2007.[^6] Molnau was in China when it happened and could not immediately act as commissioner.[^6] Answering criticism of her absence, she said she had been presenting a paper on transportation.[^6] Some legislators later faulted her, as commissioner, for not pressing for strong funding of transportation infrastructure.[^6] Pawlenty continued to back her.[^6] The Wikipedia account states that Molnau had no college degree.[^6] It also states that she said she did not read bridge inspection reports.[^6] According to the same account, she did not request funding to repair hundreds of problem bridges in the state.[^6] She answered that three members of her leadership team were engineers.[^6] Inspectors had found the collapsed bridge structurally deficient, one of the problem bridges.[^6] The required repairs had not been carried out before the collapse.[^6] A plan to reinforce the bridge's fatiguing steel trusses had been dropped.[^6] Some attributed this partly to the $2 million cost of the repairs.[^6] MnDOT engineers "scoffed" at the idea that cost was a major factor in the decision.[^6] Between 2003 and August 2007, MnDOT's staff of 4,500 shrank by 600.[^6] Critics said her priority was building new roads rather than maintaining existing ones.[^6] In September 2007 the *Minneapolis Star-Tribune* reported that Molnau's director of emergency response had been attending a Harvard class on emergency response.[^6] According to the Wikipedia account, the director did not return when the bridge collapsed.[^6] The director spent several days in Washington, D.C., before coming back to Minnesota.[^6] ## Removal as transportation commissioner After the collapse, some lawmakers publicly questioned whether she should hold both the lieutenant governorship and the commissionership.[^7] In reply, Molnau pointed to her predecessor, [[Mae Schunk]].[^7] Schunk had been active in education across the state.[^7] A January 2008 poll by [[Minnesota Public Radio]] and the Humphrey Institute asked about her performance as MnDOT commissioner.[^7] One in four Minnesotans approved.[^7] Senator Steve Murphy responded that the Senate would remove her unless she stepped down.[^7] On February 28, 2008, the Senate voted 44–22, along party lines, to remove her as transportation commissioner.[^7] Pawlenty regarded the ouster as a disappointing partisan move.[^7] Legislators pointed to failures of leadership and management.[^7] ### Molnau's farm sale Molnau also drew criticism over the 2000 sale of her family's farm.[^8] The farm lay near a highway improvement project she had helped put on a fast track.[^8] While still a state representative, she and her husband, Steve Molnau, sold a 40-acre parcel for $3.3 million.[^8] The parcel was near the Highway 212 project, which she had backed through its passage in the House.[^8] The sale's official date was May 23, 2000.[^8] That was eight days after Governor [[Jesse Ventura]] signed the Highway 212 project bill.[^8] Molnau said the sale had been in negotiation for several months.[^8] A Carver County clerk said the recorded date reflected the actual date of the sale.[^8] According to the clerk, it was not the date of the closing or of the filing.[^8] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Carol Molnau* (rev. 1365522109, retrieved 2026-10-25) — lead: birth date; 46th lieutenant governor, 2003–2011; most recent Republican elected; Carver County birth; 1992 House election and five terms; farm sale and retirement from House; Pawlenty ticket, 2002 and 2006 elections; MnDOT service and transit-funding position. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Molnau [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Carol Molnau*, sections "I-35W bridge collapse" and "Removal as transportation commissioner" (retrieved 2026-10-25) — criticism after the 2007 collapse; February 28, 2008 44–22 party-line removal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Molnau [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Carol Molnau*, section "Legislative Service" (retrieved 2026-10-25) — Chaska farming and city council service; 1992 defeat of Larry Bodahl; House leadership posts; Transportation Finance chair from 1999. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Molnau [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Carol Molnau*, section "Confirmation as MNDOT commissioner" (retrieved 2026-10-25) — March 2004 committee vote and Senate confirmation; 2005 ticket rumors over Northstar funding; August 1, 2005 denial; November 7, 2006 re-election; January 2007 Murphy remark. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Molnau [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Carol Molnau*, section "State Highway 62" (retrieved 2026-10-25) — 2006 bid request; contractor-financing requirement; no bids; project shelved about a year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Molnau [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Carol Molnau*, section "I-35W bridge collapse" (retrieved 2026-10-25) — 2007 collapse; China trip and explanation; funding criticism; degree, inspection-report and problem-bridge statements; structural-deficiency finding; $2 million truss plan and "scoffed"; staff reduction of 600 from 4,500; September 2007 *Star-Tribune* report. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Molnau [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Carol Molnau*, section "Removal as transportation commissioner" (retrieved 2026-10-25) — dual-role questions and Schunk comparison; January 2008 MPR/Humphrey Institute poll; Murphy statement; February 28, 2008 44–22 vote; Pawlenty and legislators' reactions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Molnau [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Carol Molnau*, subsection "Molnau's farm sale" (retrieved 2026-10-25) — 2000 sale of 40-acre parcel for $3.3 million near Highway 212 project; May 23, 2000 sale date eight days after Ventura signed the bill; Molnau's negotiation statement; Carver County clerk's statement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Molnau