Tom Rukavina

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Tom Rukavina (b. August 1950) is a U.S. politician. He graduated from the University of Minnesota at Duluth, with a Bachelor of Art degree, cum laude, in political science.

He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives during the elections of 1986, at the age of thirty-seven as a DFLer. He has been re-elected ten times and began his eleventh term in the Minnesota House January, 2006. He is currently on the Capital Investment Finance Division; Education Finance and Economic Competitiveness Finance Division; Finance; Higher Education and Work Force Development Policy and Finance Division; and the Taxes Committee. Since the 2006 election, Rukavina has chaired the Higher Education and Work Force Policy and Finance Division. Rukavina represents district 05A, which is the Mesabi Range.

Rukavina was arrested on July 31, 2004 for driving drunk.[1] He was cited for fourth degree drunken driving. His blood alcohol level was 0.15. He had been an opponent of lowering the blood alcohol level from .10 to .08. The state legislature in 2004 approved lowering the level beginning August 2005.

Rukavina garnered brief national attention from the Fox News Channel on March 16, 2007 for a bill he had introduced to ban the sale of foreign-made American flags in Minnesota. The bill has passed the Minnesota House and is slated for a vote in the State Senate.[2]