# Kathleen A. Blatz *Former Minnesota legislator, district court judge and Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court* Kathleen Anne Blatz (born July 22, 1954) is a former Minnesota legislator and judge from [[Minneapolis]].[^1] She sat in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] from 1979 to 1994. She then took a seat on the Hennepin County district court bench in 1994 and was later elevated to the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]], which she eventually led as Chief Justice.[^1][^2] She joined the Supreme Court as an associate justice on November 1, 1996, and became Chief Justice on January 29, 1998.[^1][^2] Her service on the court ended with her retirement on January 10, 2006. [[Russell A. Anderson]] followed her as Chief Justice.[^1] Blatz has also been interim chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the body that governs U.S. Bank Stadium. The cited sources give no dates for that role.[^1] ## Early life and education Her parents were Kaye and Jerome Blatz, and she was born in Minneapolis.[^1] She graduated from the Academy of Holy Angels, a high school in Richfield, Minnesota. She then earned a summa cum laude bachelor's degree at the University of Notre Dame.[^1] Her later degrees came from the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] and from the [[University of Minnesota]] School of Social Work.[^1] ## Career Blatz was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for the period 1979–1994. At the time of her election, no woman younger than she had ever served as a Minnesota legislator.[^1] In 1994 she received an appointment as a judge of the [[Hennepin County District Court]].[^1] On November 1, 1996, she was appointed an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Her appointment as Chief Justice followed on January 29, 1998.[^1][^2] She left the court on January 10, 2006. Russell A. Anderson succeeded her as Chief Justice.[^1] ## Personal life Her parents were Mary Kathleen "Kaye" McMahon Blatz (1926–1996) and Jerome Blatz (1923–2009). Blatz was the second of their nine children.[^1] She married Thomas R. Berkelman in Hennepin County on June 2, 1984. Berkelman served in the Minnesota Legislature from 1977 to 1983. The couple had three sons and divorced around 2000.[^1] Her second husband was Wheelock Whitney Jr., a businessman and politician, whom she married in 2005. Whitney died in 2016.[^1] Since 2019 she has been married to Gregory R. Page, formerly chief executive of Cargill.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Kathleen Anne Blatz, born July 22, 1954, in Minneapolis.[^1] ### What - Member, Minnesota House of Representatives, 1979–1994.[^1] - Hennepin County district court judge from 1994.[^1] - Associate justice, then Chief Justice, of the Minnesota Supreme Court.[^1][^2] - Interim chair, Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority.[^1] ### When - Appointed associate justice: November 1, 1996.[^1] - Appointed Chief Justice: January 29, 1998.[^1] - Retired from the court: January 10, 2006.[^1] ### Where - Born in Minneapolis. Attended high school at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Kathleen A. Blatz* (revision 1381058625, retrieved 2026-10-26), CC BY-SA 4.0 — birth, parents, education, legislative service 1979–1994, district court appointment 1994, Supreme Court appointment dates, retirement and successor, interim chair role, and personal life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_A._Blatz [^2]: Minnesota Judicial Branch library guide, *Kathleen Blatz – Minnesota Supreme Court Justice History* (n.d.) — documents her service as a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. https://mncourts.libguides.com/blatz