Janezich was born the son of an iron miner on Minnesota's
Iron Range. He received a
bachelor's degree in
speech from
St. Cloud State University. Later, he co-founded and operated a
bar in his home town of
Chisholm, Minnesota. Janezich was first elected to the state house of representatives in 1988, and served two terms, before running successfully for state senate in 1992. In 2000, he sought the
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) endorsement for the senate seat held by
Republican Sen.
Rod Grams. Janezich won the endorsement of his party at its state convention, but lost in the
primary election to former State Auditor
Mark Dayton. Janezich retired from politics after his term expired in 2001. He is married, and has three children. ==References==