Personal Papers and Newspaper Clippings, 1949-1986

The John E. Grotberg Papers document his political career up to the time of his death on November 15, 1986. The collection is divided into six series: Personal Files, Campaign Files, State Representative Files, Legislative Files, Subject Files, and District Office Files. The first series, Personal Files, consists of seven subseries: Biographical, Correspondence, Speeches, Newsletters/Press Releases, Committees, Legislation, and Audio-video. The first subseries consists of biographical information such as resumes, personal notes, newspaper clippings, and certificates of appreciation. Of special interest in the biographies files is a 1992 Grotberg Family reunion booklet. The second subseries contains correspondence to and from Grotberg. The third subseries consists of speeches given by Grotberg. The fourth subseries includes newsletters and press releases written by Grotberg and his staff. The fifth subseries consists of lists of committees that Grotberg served on during his political career. The sixth subseries includes a listing of the bills Grotberg sponsored or cosponsored. And the final subseries contains an audio cassette tape of the “Up Close” talk show with Marie Luedke representing Grotberg’s office, a VHS tape entitled, “City Out of Wilderness,” which includes an introduction by Grotberg, and a VHS tape of John Grotberg’s memorial session on the house floor on March 4, 1987. Series II, Campaign Files, date from 1972-1986 and include information on Grotberg’s various political office campaigns. This series consists of information on campaign strategies, endorsements, fundraising events, Federal Election Commission reports, and tax returns for Grotberg’s campaign committees. The State Representative Files included in Series III date from 1972-1976 and contains topical correspondence and literature files pertaining to Grotberg’s legislative issues and his duties as State Representative. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject. The fourth series, Legislative Files, consists of eight subseries arranged by types of bills. The bills are arranged numerically by bill number within each subseries. The files usually include a copy of the bill, committee reports, staff memos, and correspondence to illustrate the bill’s introduction and movement through Congress. Only bills sponsored and cosponsored by Grotberg are included in this series. Series V, Subject Files, contains topically arranged material and includes published reports, correspondence, and newspaper clippings. This series is arranged alphabetically and includes information on such topics as the superconducting supercollider at Fermilab and the TWA hostage situation. The sixth series, District File, is divided into two subseries: St. Charles and Washington. These files include district schedules, memos, event acceptances and regrets, correspondence, and voting information.