Minnesota congressman, ranking member on House Agriculture Committee to address convention March 29; N.D. Democrats to endorse U.S. House candidate later that day.

(BISMARCK, ND – MARCH 20, 2014) – The North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party announced today that U.S. Representative Collin Peterson, of Minnesota, will deliver the keynote address at the party’s 2014 State Convention next week.

The North Dakota Democratic-NPL State Convention will be held in Fargo, March 28-29, at the Fargo Civic Center. The convention will convene at 12:00 Noon on Friday, March 28. Peterson’s keynote address is scheduled for the convention’s final day at 1:50 PM on Saturday, March 29.

“We are delighted that Representative Peterson will be addressing our convention. Few members of Congress have a better understanding of the issues facing our region than Representative Peterson,” says Chad Oban, North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party Executive Director.

“Peterson, like Senator Heidi Heitkamp, has earned a reputation in Congress for pragmatism and common sense. North Dakota needs those qualities representing us in the U.S. House. We definitely need more of that in Bismarck,” adds Oban.

In addition to Peterson, delegates will also hear speeches on Saturday from members of “Team North Dakota”: Former U.S. Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and former U.S. Representative Earl Pomeroy. U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp is scheduled to speak at 2:40 PM that day. The central event of the convention will take place immediately following Heitkamp’s remarks with the nomination and endorsement of the party’s candidate for U.S. House. Fargo State Senator George B. Sinner is seeking the party’s congressional endorsement.

In addition to the U.S. House endorsement, delegates will also endorse candidates for Agriculture Commissioner, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Tax Commissioner, and two seats on the Public Service Commission.

For more information on the convention, log onto: www.demnpl.com/2014-convention-info/

ABOUT U.S. REPRESENTATIVE COLLIN PETERSON

Collin was born on June 29, 1944, in Fargo, North Dakota. He grew up on a farm in Baker, Minnesota, and he currently lives in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Collin has three sons, Sean, Jason and Elliott and four grandchildren, Collin, Tori, Karis, and Karly. He is an avid sportsman and enjoys hunting and fishing with his sons and especially his grandson Collin. He is a private pilot and enjoys flying around the seventh district and visiting with his constituents.

Collin was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Seventh Congressional District of Minnesota in 1990. His primarily rural and agricultural district reaches from the Canadian border in the north, almost to the Iowa state line in the south; along Minnesota’s border with North and South Dakota. Peterson is Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Agriculture, which has jurisdiction over a wide range of agriculture and rural development issues including the Farm Bill, renewable energy, disaster assistance, nutrition, crop insurance, conservation, rural development, international trade, futures market regulation, animal and plant health, agricultural research, bioterrorism, forestry, among others.

He graduated from Minnesota State University-Moorhead and also served in the North Dakota National Guard. Before being elected to the House of Representatives, he was a Certified Public Accountant and small business owner in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and also served for ten years in the Minnesota State Senate.

In the 1960’s, Peterson also found time to play guitar and sing with a band known as “Collin and the Establishment.” He is a musician, and in recent years he has performed with Willie Nelson at Farm Aid concerts, jazz legend Lonnie Brooks, with several other Members of Congress at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and with rock guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter at several Washington, D.C. venues. He is a member of the American Legion’s Ninth District Band.

Peterson has organized and played in Congressional rock bands, including The Amendments and the Second Amendments. He and his colleagues have performed at charity events in Washington DC. The Second Amendments also performed for U.S. troops in Germany, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan and performed at WE Fest in Minnesota and Farm Aid in Illinois.

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From: Dem-NPL News