Joe Bertram (Minnesota politician)

{{short description|American politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Joe Bertram

|image =

|caption =

|office1 = Member of the Minnesota Senate from the 14th district

|term_start1 = January 5, 1993

|term_end1 = January 9, 1996

|predecessor1 = Florian Chmielewski

|successor1 = Michelle Fischbach

|office2 = Member of the Minnesota Senate from the 16th district

|term_start2 = January 6, 1981

|term_end2 = January 4, 1993

|predecessor2 = Ben Omann

|successor2 = Joanne Benson

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|7|3}}

|birth_place = Stearns County, Minnesota, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party

|occupation = farmer

|spouse = Mary Lee Imdieke

|children = three

|relations = Jeff Bertram (brother)

|residence = Paynesville, Minnesota

|alma_mater = St. Cloud State University, Bemidji State University

}}

Joe Bertram, Sr.{{cite web |title=Bertram, Sr., Joe - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present |url=https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?ID=10055 |website=www.lrl.mn.gov |publisher=Minnesota Legislative Reference Library |access-date=13 March 2022}} (born July 3, 1954) is an American politician who served in the Minnesota Senate from 1981 to 1996 as (DFL) State Senator from Paynesville in District 14.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/179962654/ |title=Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 11, 1996 · Page 16 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=1996-01-11 |accessdate=2018-09-15}}{{cite web|url=https://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail?ID=10055 |title=Bertram, Sr., Joe |publisher=Leg.state.mn.us |date= |accessdate=2018-09-15}}

Bertram was accused of shoplifting a leather vest and trying to bribe the store owner into not reporting it in 1996. His brother, State Representative Jeff Bertram then began threatening people to not report other behaviors by his brother, for which Jeff Bertram was Censured. The Senate was beginning expulsion talks for Joe Bertram when pled guilty and resigned.https://www.postbulletin.com | Senator's guilty plea has constituents angry, baffled | Oct 5, 1995 | [https://www.postbulletin.com/senator-s-guilty-plea-has-constituents-angry-baffled/article_80c03476-84b7-5878-8ed0-100d72765a0d.html]{{Cite web|url=https://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail?ID=10055|title = Bertram, Sr., Joe - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present}}http://www.paynesvillearea.com | 12/30/96 | Six biggest stories of 1996 | Linda Stelling | [http://www.paynesvillearea.com/news/headlinesarticles/archives/010197/Fivebigstories96.html]