Background
He was born in Ridgeway, Iowa, and he was educated at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and he graduated in the spring of 1901.
He was born in Ridgeway, Iowa, and he was educated at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and he graduated in the spring of 1901.
He studied at the University of Minnesota Law School and graduated in the spring of 1906.
He came to Plaza, North Dakota in July 1906 and engaged in the practice of law. He later moved to Stanley, North Dakota, when Mountrail County, North Dakota was organized. He was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives in 1908, and to the North Dakota Senate in 1910, as a Republican.
He was elected the state"s attorney general in 1914, and he served one term as he did not make the Republican primary in 1916.