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St. Paul, Minn.

James Oberstar, 1934-2014

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Oberstar made transportation issues a priority.
President Bush looked back towards members of Congress after signing the Aviation Security Bill at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport on Nov. 19, 2001. From left to right behind Bush is, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, Rep. John Duncan Jr., R-Tenn., Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., and Rep Connie Morella, R-Md.
Doug Mills / AP

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, a DFLer who represented Minnesota's 8th District from 1975 to 2011, has died. Oberstar was 79. Oberstar was elected to Congress in 1974 and served 18 terms before he narrowly lost to GOP challenger Chip Cravaack in 2010 as part of a Republican takeover of the House. He was the state's longest-serving member of Congress.

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Oberstar leaves
U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar left the Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building in Duluth, Minn. after speaking to the media on , Nov. 3, 2010, after being defeated by his Republican challenger.
Derek Montgomery / For MPR News
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Jim Oberstar
Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale, left, left a food shelf store in Gilbert, Minnesota, with U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., on Feb. 21, 1983.
Jim Mone/AP
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Oberstar made transportation issues a priority.
President Bush looked back towards members of Congress after signing the Aviation Security Bill at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport on Nov. 19, 2001. From left to right behind Bush is, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, Rep. John Duncan Jr., R-Tenn., Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., and Rep Connie Morella, R-Md.
Doug Mills / AP