City Of Edina issued the following announcement on Mar. 09.
#WomensHistoryMonthEdina
Over the past 50 years, 11 women have served on the Edina City Council. Community booster June Schmidt holds distinction as the first. While it stands as something of a watershed moment in hindsight, June’s election in 1973 came as the natural culmination of long years in community service.
June Schmidt (née Austin) was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota – fittingly enough, in June 1926. Her parents, Ben and Caroline Austin, moved the family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, shortly thereafter. June would return to the Midwest of her own volition, enrolling in the University of Minnesota’s journalism program. It was here that she met husband, Allen P. Schmidt. The pair wed on June 12, 1950.
June gravitated toward personal and career interests in real estate, economic development and local government. Her first toehold into the civic arena came as a volunteer on an Edina City Council-appointed commission tasked with overseeing boards, committees and commissions. In the years to come, June also accepted appointments to the Environmental Quality and Civic Affairs commissions.
June first assumed her seat on the Edina City Council in January 1974, and would go on to be re-elected twice. She rotated off in January 1986 after 12 consecutive years in the post. In the years since, only three other women have matched that long tenure.
These were eventful years for the City of Edina, with milestones of note including the dedication of Arneson Acres Park (1976), opening of the Edina Art Center (1977) and groundbreaking on the ambitious Edinborough Park project (1985).
Part and parcel with her City Council duties, June served on bodies ranging from the Human Services Board, to the Board of Appeals, to the so-called Comprehensive Land Use Planning Development Authority. Among other priorities, she was a vocal proponent for the adoption of tax-increment financing (TIF) to stoke investment in Edina’s infrastructure.
June Schmidt retired to Cary, North Carolina, where, among other hobbies, she founded a flourishing investment club. She was fond of showing friends at her retirement community a limited-edition deck of cards printed as part of an Edina fundraiser. In it, her name is listed under the three of spades as “Edina’s first female City Council member, 1974-1986.”
She passed away Feb. 2, 2018.
#WomensHistoryMonth #WomenInHistory #EdinaMN
Original source can be found here.
Source: City Of Edina
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