Thorvald Jacobson, my Great-great-grandfather, moved to the Red River Valley in the late 1860’s. From humble beginnings outside the Fort Abercrombie reserve, my family began a tradition of service to the region that I hope to continue as your representative for District 9a.

On my mother’s side of the family, my great grandfather rode sleigh through snowbound fields to deliver babies and heal the sick and injured as a country physician. My grandfather, Ralph Ivers, spent a lifetime comforting the bereaved and, in the end, gave a good part of his professional fortune to Concordia College. My mother, Lois, has spent her entire adult life working for the betterment of women, the poor and refugees from across the world.

On my father’s side, my grandfather Martin was a North Dakota Extension agent, until his untimely death when my dad was barely a teen. My father, Bernie, flew F-4’s during the cold war and continues, well past retirement, serving patients from throughout the region.

Me? I live in Moorhead with my wife, Susan, and two beautiful children, Sophia and John. I work as an Executive Director at a rural charity which serves to help children and families in need. I am in this race because I believe Moorhead and northern Clay County have had enough of just good enough and deserve a representative in St. Paul who is willing and ready to fight for good schools, lower taxes and opportunity for all.

I believe in prosperity, equality and fair play. I want my children to have a Minnesota as proud and generous as it is today. Minnesota is the greatest state in the greatest nation the world has ever seen, and I want to help keep it that way.