SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- When Linda Barker became the first woman elected to the Minneahaha County Commission in 1982, a male commissioner had some advice for her.

"(He) told me I had no business being on the commission," Barker said. "He said I should be home taking care of my children who were 6 and 12 at the time."

She responded with "I'm here because I won the election."

Barker and four other panelists will discuss their days as women entering the workforce and what were considered non-traditional jobs in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s in a class called "Battles We Won." The Tuesday class is sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). Class attendees are invited to write their own stories. Those stories and those of the panelists will be placed in the archives at

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