Merrill Piepkorn
Merrill Piepkorn | |
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Piepkorn in 2010 | |
Member of the North Dakota Senate from the 44th district | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office December 1, 2016 | |
Preceded by | Tim Flakoll |
Personal details | |
Born | 1949[1] (age 74–75) Stanley, North Dakota, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Connie |
Children | 1 |
Education | Concordia College |
Website | Official website |
Merrill Piepkorn is an American entertainer and politician who has served in the North Dakota Senate from the 44th district since 2016. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Piepkorn is a candidate in the 2024 North Dakota gubernatorial election. He has also hosted radio shows on Prairie Public Radio and served as the public address announcer for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.
Early life and career
Piepkorn was born in 1949.[2] He attended Concordia College. While he was enrolled there, he began playing music with Gregg Temple, a fellow student, in 1972. He graduated from Concordia in 1974. After graduating, Piepkorn and Temple co-founded a country band called Skunk Hollow.[3][4]
Piepkorn worked for Prairie Public Radio, hosting "Morning Edition" while he was a graduate student at North Dakota State University. In 1999, he co-created and began hosting the radio show "Here & Now".[5] Piepkorn became the public address announcer for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, a Minor League Baseball team, for the 1997 season. He stayed in the role through the 2006 season.[6] Piepkorn and Temple co-founded a band called the Radio Stars in 2008.[3][7] He created, hosted, and served as executive producer of "Dakota Air" on Prairie Public Radio, which debuted in 2010.[8]
Political career
Piepkorn ran for the North Dakota Senate as a member of the Democratic Party in 2016. He defeated Tim Flakoll, the incumbent state senator, in the November general election.[9] Flakoll sought a rematch in 2020, and Piepkorn won reelection.[10] He won reelection in 2022 with 62% of the vote against Republican Bjorn Altenburg.[11] In November 2022, Piepkorn was elected to serve as assistant minority leader of the state senate.[12]
On April 2, 2024, Piepkorn announced that he would run for governor of North Dakota in the 2024 election.[13] He won the party's nomination at their convention in April. He selected Patrick Hart as his running mate for lieutenant governor of North Dakota.[14]
References
- ^ "Merrill Piepkorn". voterly.com. Voterly. 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "Merrill Piepkorn". voterly.com. Voterly. 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ a b "Radio Stars return to Sibyl Hall". Minot Daily News. June 22, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Making a Scene: The voice of North Dakota". InForum. March 30, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Radio Program lets listeners talk". The Bismarck Tribune. July 9, 1999. p. 17. Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "PA announcer walks away from RedHawks". InForum. March 20, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ ""Dakota Air" radio broadcast comes to Wishek". The Bismarck Tribune. March 18, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Radio show highlighting communities to start". Jamestown Sun. August 26, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Democrats win in District 44, Republicans take 46, 16". Kfgo.com. November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ Jurgens, Paul. "Piepkorn, Roers, Roers-Jones, Kasper re-elected to ND legislature". Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Voters in Cass and Clay counties elect 27 state lawmakers". InForum. November 9, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "New legislators, new leadership in N.D. Legislature". North Dakota Living. November 28, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ Hjelmstad, Gretchen (April 2, 2024). "Merrill Piepkorn launches campaign for Governor of North Dakota". KVLY-TV. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ Beach, Jeff (April 6, 2024). "Piepkorn has Democrats singing, names Hart as running mate". North Dakota Monitor. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
External links
- Merrill for North Dakota campaign website
- Senator Merrill Piepkorn legislative website
- Profile at Vote Smart
North Dakota Senate | ||
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Preceded by | Member of the North Dakota Senate from the 44th district 2016–present | Incumbent |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Shelley Lenz | Democratic nominee for Governor of North Dakota 2024 | Most recent |
- v
- t
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- President of the Senate
- Tammy Miller (R)
- President pro tempore
- Donald Schaible (R)
- Majority Leader
- David Hogue (R)
- Minority Leader
- Kathy Hogan (D-NPL)
- ▌Brad Bekkedahl (R)
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- ▌Michelle Axtman (R)
- ▌Jeffery Magrum (R)
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- ▌Ryan Braunberger (D-NPL)
- ▌Tim Mathern (D-NPL)
- ▌Cole Conley (R)
- ▌Judy Lee (R)
- ▌Jerry Klein (R)
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- ▌Randy Lemm (R)
- ▌Kathy Hogan (D-NPL)
- ▌Mark Weber (R)
- ▌Todd Beard (R)
- ▌Michael Wobbema (R)
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- ▌Dale Patten (R)
- ▌Kristin Roers (R)
- ▌Robert Erbele (R)
- ▌Terry Wanzek (R)
- ▌Diane Larson (R)
- ▌Donald Schaible (R)
- ▌Dick Dever (R)
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- ▌Jay Elkin (R)
- ▌Dean Rummel (R)
- ▌David Hogue (R)
- ▌Greg Kessel (R)
- ▌Karen Krebsbach (R)
- ▌Kyle Davison (R)
- ▌Curt Kreun (R)
- ▌Jeff Barta (R)
- ▌Merrill Piepkorn (D-NPL)
- ▌Ronald Sorvaag (R)
- ▌Jim Roers (R)
- ▌Michael Dwyer (R)