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Merrill Piepkorn (born June 9, 1949)[1] 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-NPL Party. He has also hosted radio shows on Prairie Public Radio and served as the public address announcer for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.
Merrill Piepkorn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 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 | June 9, 1949 Stanley, North Dakota, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-NPL |
| Spouse | Connie |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Concordia College (BA) North Dakota State University |
| Website | Official website |
In 2024, Piepkorn won the Democratic nomination for governor of North Dakota, and lost to Republican nominee Kelly Armstrong in the general election.
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Piepkorn was born on June 9, 1949.[1][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]
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Piepkorn ran for the North Dakota Senate as a member of the Democratic-NPL 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] He went off against Congressman Kelly Armstrong and Michael Coachman. He lost the election to Kelly Armstrong.[15]
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Piepkorn and his wife Connie live in Fargo, North Dakota. They have one son and two grandchildren. He is Lutheran.[16]
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