Allan Spear remembered as his book is published

Tom Crann
St. Paul, Minn.

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Allan Spear
Former DFL Sen. Allan Spear served in the Minnesota Legislature for nearly 30 years. He died in 2008, and an autobiography he wrote before his death is now being published.
Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota

Minnesota state Sen. Allan Spear was a trailblazer. Spear, who served as president of the Minnesota state Senate, was also one of the first openly gay legislators in the country. He represented a Minneapolis district in the state Senate from 1973-2000.

When Spear died in 2008, he left a manuscript of an autobiography he had been working on. That book has just been published, and it's called "Crossing the Barriers."

Spear shared the manuscript with his friend and political colleague Lee Greenfield, who himself served in the Minesota House for more than 20 years. Greenfield talked with MPR's Tom Crann about Allan Spear, his book and his legacy.

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