Longtime Two Harbors mayor and state lawmaker Dave Battaglia died Wednesday at St. Luke’s hospital in Duluth. He was 86.
Battaglia grew up in Buhl but settled in Two Harbors, where he taught civics and industrial arts for nearly 40 years.
He was first elected mayor in 1957, then served on the Two Harbors City Council and again as mayor until 1976 when he was elected to the Minnesota Legislature, He served as a legislator for 18 years, rising to become a key player in the then-powerful Iron Range delegation.
Battaglia, a labor-stalwart DFLer, for years headed the House committee that funded the Department of Natural Resources, and he played a role in key resource issues, from fishing and hunting to iron ore mining.
Battaglia was severely injured in an airplane crash near Ely in 1989, in which the pilot was killed. Battaglia lost sight in one eye and spent 13 days in the hospital, but he returned to resume his jobs as teacher and lawmaker.
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Battaglia was known for his sometimes booming voice and gruff exterior in public at the Legislature, but also as a soft-spoken, caring public servant in person.
“He sat on my left side for 16 years on the House floor,” said longtime state lawmaker Joe Begich of Eveleth. “He knew how to get things done down there.”
Begich recalled that Battaglia would sometimes butt heads over regional policy with fellow northern lawmakers who represented the core cities of the Iron Range, but that the group always came together in the end.
“He never, ever goofed off down there. He did that job like it was life and death. He really cared about the people…. And he always looked out for the North Shore people,” Begich said. “He was a top notch guy.”
After retiring from the state Legislature in 1994, Battaglia then went back to serve on the Two Harbors City Council from 1997 to 2004.
Battaglia is survived by his wife, three sons, two daughters and 12 grandchildren.
A visitation will be held Feb. 10 from 5 p.m. until the 7 p.m. Rosary Service in Cavallin Funeral Home in Two Harbors. Visitation will continue from 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial on Feb. 11 in Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Two Harbors. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery.
