Durenberger, former US senator from Minnesota, dies at 88

By STEPHEN GROVES
Associated Press

Former U.S. Senator David Durenberger has died at age 88. Durenberger was a Minnesota Republican who espoused a progressive brand of politics. His longtime spokesperson says his health has declined in recent months and he died Tuesday morning at his St. Paul home. Durenberger won a U.S. Senate seat in 1978 and served three terms. He was a champion of health care reform. He was unanimously censured by the Senate in 1990 following an ethics investigation into payments he received for book royalties and federal reimbursements for stays in a Minneapolis condo. In 1995, he pled guilty to five misdemeanor charges related to the condo payments. He became a critic of the Republican Party as it tilted toward fiscal conservatives focused on slashing government programs.