reedMaureen Reed, a former Independence Party candidate for Lt. Governor, is going to challenge Rep. Michele Bachmann, according to the blog Liberal in the Land of Conservative. In 2006 she ran on a gubernatorial ticket with Peter Hutchinson, garnering six percent of the vote statewide.

Reed is a former chair of the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents and also served as medical director at HealthPartners. More recently she worked as interim executive director of the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota. Raised in Redwood Falls, she’s a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Reed spoke at last night’s Sixth Congressional District DFL gathering at the Denny’s Restaurant in Otsego, according to Noah Kunin of the Uptake. If the liberal blogger’s report is accurate, she’ll be the first official challenger for Bachmann. Former Blaine Mayor Elwyn Tinklenberg, who narrowly lost to Bachmann last year, is openly flirting with a second run at the post. And Nancy Schumaker, chair of the DFL in the Sixth District, told MnIndy last month that three potential candidates were exploring a run, but she declined to provide names.