| Kitty Rhoades | |
| Governor: | Scott Walker |
| Termstart2: | 1998 |
| Office2: | Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 30th district |
| Predecessor: | Dennis Smith |
| Successor: | Linda Seemeyer |
| Alma Mater: | University of Wisconsin–River Falls (BA) Illinois State University (MEd) |
| Party: | Republican |
| Termend: | June 18, 2016 |
| Birth Name: | Kitty Richie |
| Termstart: | February 22, 2013 |
| Office: | Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services |
| Death Place: | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Birth Place: | Hudson, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Death Date: | June 18, 2016 (aged 64) |
| Birth Date: | April 7, 1951 |
| Termend2: | 2010 |
Kitty Rhoades (née Richie) (April 7, 1951 – June 18, 2016) was an American politician. She served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, where she represented the 30th district, before serving as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Born in Hudson, Wisconsin, Rhoades received a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls and a master's degree in education from Illinois State University.
Rhoades worked as an educator, small business owner, and consultant. In 1998, she was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican.[1]
In the 1990s, Rhoades proposed the term Winnesota to describe Wisconsin's St. Croix and Pierce Counties, which border Minnesota and are within the U.S. Census Bureau's Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Area. According to Rhoades, "I still call my area Winnesota. We are in Wisconsin, but it sure is hard to remember it."[2]
Rhoades retired from the state Assembly in 2010,[3] and took a position with the administration of then-Governor Scott Walker in 2011 as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health Services.[4] In February 2013, following the resignation of Dennis Smith, she was appointed Secretary.[5] [6]
Rhoades died on June 18, 2016, in Madison, Wisconsin from pneumonia.[7] [8]