Harry Niska

Harry Niska is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Niska represents District 31A in the north Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Ramsey and Andover in Anoka County, Minnesota.[1][2]

Harry Niska
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 31A district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byCal Bahr
Constituency31A (2023-present)
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJennifer
Children3
ResidenceRamsey, Minnesota
EducationConcordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota)
University of Minnesota Law School
Occupationattorney

Early life, education and career

Niska grew up in Andover, Minnesota and graduated from Anoka High School. He received his bachelor's degree in political science from Concordia College, Moorhead.[1]

Niska received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota, Law School. He worked as a law clerk on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge Roger Leland Wollman from 2005 to 2006, and for Judge David Stras in 2018. Niska also served on the Ramsey County Charter Commission. Niska ran in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Minnesota in 2018,[3] but withdrew prior to the primary.[1]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Niska was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022, after redistricting and the retirement of Republican incumbent Cal Bahr, who decided to run for a seat in the Minnesota Senate. Niska serves on the Commerce Finance and Policy and the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committees.[1]

Conversion therapy bill

Rep. Athena Hollins brought forth House File 16 in 2023, for banning conversion therapy for minors and vulnerable adults specifically.[4][5] Similar legislation had been proposed several times in the five years before.[6]

Rep. Niska opposed what he considered "free speech violations" contained within the bill.[7] "What’s added in section three to the existing bill is a bunch of language calling out a particular viewpoint or particular content as fraudulent," Niska said.[6]

He posed an amendment to remove the sections in the bill which categorize advertising for the procedure's efficacy as consumer fraud,[7] and those that would ban "representing homosexuality as a mental disease, disorder, or illness, or guaranteeing to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity."[6] The amendment failed,[7] but the bill passed the House.[4]

Electoral history
2022 Minnesota State House - District 31A[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Harry Niska 11,638 59.51
Democratic (DFL) Betsy O'Berry 7,904 40.42
Write-in 15 0.08
Total votes 19,557 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life

Niska lives in Ramsey, Minnesota with his wife, Jen, and has three children.[1]

References
  1. "Niska, Harry - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  2. "Rep. Harry Niska (31A) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  3. Lopez, Ricardo (2017-04-17). "Republican attorney Harry Niska joins race for AG". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  4. Deng, Grace (February 23, 2023). "Minnesota House passes bill to ban 'conversion therapy' for minors". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved March 16, 2023. The Minnesota House on Monday passed a bill to ban "conversion therapy" for minors and vulnerable adults, a discredited practice aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill, introduced by Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, passed 81-47.
  5. Cooper, Renée (February 6, 2023). "'Conversion therapy' ban again headed for vote in Minnesota House". KSTP.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023. House File 16, placed on the General Register after it was adopted Wednesday by the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee, would ban the practice specifically by mental health professionals for children and vulnerable adults.
  6. Cooper, Renée (February 6, 2023). "'Conversion therapy' ban again headed for vote in Minnesota House". KSTP.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  7. Deng, Grace (February 23, 2023). "Minnesota House passes bill to ban 'conversion therapy' for minors". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved March 16, 2023. Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, took issue with what he called "free speech violations" in the bill and introduced an amendment to delete the section of the bill that says advertising conversion therapy as successful is consumer fraud. The amendment did not pass.
  8. "2022 Results for State Representative District 31A". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
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