Eleanor Mondale, daughter of ex-VP, dies

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Eleanor Mondale, a Minnesota TV host and daughter of Vice President Walter Mondale, died early Saturday, six years after she was diagnosed with cancer.

Mondale, 51, who lived in rural Prior Lake with her third husband, rock musician Chan Poling, had been receiving hospice care for a month, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

"Joan and I must report that our wonderful daughter, after her long and gutsy battle with cancer, went up to heaven last night to be with her angel," Walter Mondale said in a statement.

Mondale spent a lot of time in her early years on the campaign trail. Her father, Jimmy Carter's running mate in 1976 when they won and 1980 when they lost, ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate against President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

She later had a high-profile social life that included dating Arnold Schwarzenegger and rock musician Warren Zevon and brief marriages to Chicago Bears tackle Keith Van Horne and Minneapolis radio DJ Greg Malban, who used the on-air name Greg Thunder.

Mondale worked in broadcasting with jobs that included reporting for CBS' "This Morning" and covering horse racing for ESPN. After living in Los Angeles for several years, she returned to Minneapolis and became one of the hosts of "Mondale and Jones" on WCCO Radio.

She married Poling in June 2005, the same month she got her cancer diagnosis. The couple lived on a farm that they shared with dogs, chickens, mini-horses and one mini-donkey.