Gary Dahms


Gary H. Dahms is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 16, which includes all or portions of Brown, Lac qui Parle, Lyon, Redwood, Renville, and Yellow Medicine counties in the southwestern part of the state.

Early life, education, and career

Dahms graduated from Redwood Falls High School in 1965, then went on to the University of Minnesota, earning a B.S. degree in agricultural business administration.
Dahms is the former owner of Riverside Motors and American Family Insurance Agency in Redwood Falls. He most recently served as a Redwood County Commissioner, and was also a board member of the Redwood County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Redwood County Agricultural Society, the Redwood Area Development Corporation, the Redwood County Economic Development Association, the Southwest Minnesota Regional Development Commission, the Minnesota Valley Rail Authority, and the Redwood-Renville Health Services Board.

Minnesota Senate

Dahms was first elected in 2010, succeeding retiring longtime Senator Dennis Frederickson of New Ulm. He was reelected in 2012 and 2016.

In April 2015 Dahms voted against the Sunday liquor sales bill, which would have repealed the long-standing ban on Sunday liquor sales in Minnesota.
Senator Dahms’ opposition to breweries and distilleries has been well-documented throughout his tenure at the MN Capitol.
During the Covid-19 crisis of 2020, Senator Dahms was implicated by a number of his colleagues as one of the main roadblocks to a temporary bill which would have allowed Minnesota craft breweries to sell package sizes other than 750ml and 64oz directly you their patrons. This bill would have given a much-needed revenue stream to small businesses which were hurt by the economic crisis brought on by Covid-19.
As of May 15, 2020, no action has been taken to make the temporary change. Many breweries will be at risk of losing yet another revenue stream because the company that produces the 750mL crowlers is shifting its production fully to 32oz in order to meet demands from breweries in the 49 states where vessel sizes are not so strictly limited. Without the ability to sell 12 or 16 oz cans directly, many breweries will be unable to safely sell beer directly to their consumers, leaving them without a revenue stream which they have grown to rely on.
https://m.startribune.com/castle-danger-bids-farewell-to-growlers/561556052/