| John Chenoweth | |
| State Senate1: | Minnesota |
| District1: | 66th |
| Term Start1: | January 2, 1973 |
| Term End1: | November 26, 1979 (unfinished term) |
| Predecessor1: | Roger Moe |
| Successor1: | Emery Barrette |
| State Senate2: | Minnesota |
| District2: | 44th |
| Term Start2: | January 5, 1971 |
| Term End2: | January 1, 1973 |
| Predecessor2: | Wendell Anderson |
| Successor2: | Skip Humphrey |
| State House3: | Minnesota |
| District3: | 44A |
| Term Start3: | January 7, 1969 |
| Term End3: | January 4, 1971 |
| Predecessor3: | Emery Barrette |
| Successor3: | Bruce Vento |
| Birth Name: | John Craig Chenoweth |
| Birth Date: | 4 May 1943 |
| Birth Place: | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Children: | John |
| Alma Mater: | New York Institute of Finance Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity Saint John's University attended John Carroll University attended William Mitchell College of Law |
John Craig Chenoweth (May 4, 1943 – August 10, 1991) was a Minnesota politician, executive director of the Minneapolis Municipal Employees Retirement Fund, and a victim of an anti-gay hate crime. As a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he served in the Minnesota State House (1969–1971) and Senate (1971–1979).
John Craig Chenoweth was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on May 4, 1943. He was educated at the Johnson High School, New York Institute of Finance, Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity at University of St. Thomas and Saint John's University.[1] He also attended John Carroll University and William Mitchell College of Law, but did not graduate.[1] Chenoweth served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1969 to 1971 and in the Minnesota Senate from 1971 to 1979. Before he was first elected, he was a Saint Paul Municipal Court law clerk and congressional campaign director.[1] In November 1979, he resigned his term to become the executive director of the Minneapolis Municipal Employees Retirement Fund.[1] He held the position until May 1990, when he resigned.[1] [2]
He was married to Mary Sharon Naughton from 1969 to 1977, by whom he had a son, John.[1]
Chenoweth was murdered by gunshot on the beach (a gay hangout area at the time) in Minneapolis, on August 10, 1991.[2] [3] 19-year-old Cord Draszt was seriously wounded in the same shooting. The murderer, Jay Thomas Johnson, who was also gay, had shot and killed another gay man in Loring Park 11 days earlier, on July 31, 1991. The victim of that crime was 21-year-old Joel Larson.[4] [5]