Merrill Piepkorn | |
|---|---|
 Piepkorn in 2010 | |
| Member of the North Dakota Senate from the 44th district | |
| Assumed office December 1, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Tim Flakoll |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1949 (age 74–75) Fargo, North Dakota, US |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Concordia College |
Merrill Piepkorn (born 1949) 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[edit]
Piepkorn was born in 1949.[1] 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.[2][3]
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".[4] 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.[5] Piepkorn and Temple co-founded a band called the Radio Stars in 2008.[2][6] He created, hosted, and served as executive producer of "Dakota Air" on Prairie Public Radio, which debuted in 2010.[7]
Political career[edit]
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.[8] Flakoll sought a rematch in 2020, and Piepkorn won reelection.[9] He won reelection in 2022 with 62% of the vote against Republican Bjorn Altenburg.[10] In November 2022, Piepkorn was elected to serve as assistant minority leader of the state senate.[11]
On April 2, 2024, Piepkorn announced that he would run for governor of North Dakota in the 2024 election.[12] He won the party's nomination at their convention in April. He selected Patrick Hart as his runningmate for lieutenant governor of North Dakota.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Radio Program lets listeners talk". The Bismarck Tribune. July 9, 1999. p. 17 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "PA announcer walks away from RedHawks". InForum. March 20, 2007.
- ^ ""Dakota Air" radio broadcast comes to Wishek". The Bismarck Tribune. March 18, 2011.
- ^ "Radio show highlighting communities to start". Jamestown Sun. August 26, 2010.
- ^ "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".
- ^ "Voters in Cass and Clay counties elect 27 state lawmakers". InForum. November 9, 2022.
- ^ "New legislators, new leadership in N.D. Legislature". North Dakota Living. November 28, 2022.
- ^ 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.