Bert J. McKasy ’68, Former State Legislator and Commerce Commissioner, Dies at 77
Bert J. McKasy ’68, who was elected to three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives and later served as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, passed away peacefully at his home in Mendota Heights on Feb. 8. McKasy had undergone three years of chemotherapy for colon cancer until deciding in August 2018 to enter hospice care. He was 77.
Born in St. Paul, McKasy attended St. Mark’s Catholic School—where he met Carolyn, his wife of 54 years, in second grade—and earned his undergraduate degree in political science at the University of St. Thomas. After receiving his J.D. from the Law School, he practiced law at the venerable Twin Cities firm of Lindquist & Vennum (now Ballard Spahr), where he became a partner.
McKasy was elected to the first of his three consecutive terms in the Minnesota House in 1983. After leaving the legislature in 1988, he moved to Washington, D.C., to work as chief of staff for Republican Sen. Dave Durenberger, a close friend. Two years later, McKasy returned to Minnesota, having been appointed commissioner of the state’s commerce department by Gov. Arne Carlson. He was later appointed to the Metropolitan Airports Commission by Gov. Jesse Ventura, where he served for 11 years.
McKasy was active in business, as well. He founded McKasy Travel Agency with Carolyn, and he served on the boards of directors of numerous enterprises, including Mairs & Power Mutual Funds (where he was board chair), UCare, Lec Tec, Northstar Ice, and the American National Bank of St. Paul. He was equally active as a civic leader, chairing the board of the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce; leading the St. Paul Winter Carnival in its centennial year, 1986, when the famous Lake Phalen Ice Palace was erected; and serving as treasurer of Children’s Hospital, trustee of the F.R. Bigelow Charitable Foundation, and president of Somerset Country Club, where he played golf for 42 years.
Five weeks before his death, McKasy and Carolyn were interviewed for a St. Paul Pioneer Press feature story on hospice care. View the Pioneer Press story on his passing.
