FARGO – Former State House Member Marvin Nelson of Rolla will receive the Spirit of the NPL Award at the 14th Annual Burdick Dinner on September 14, 2024. This award honors those who embody the values of the Nonpartisan League.

Nelson has served as Secretary of the District 9 Democratic-NPL for many years. He decided he wanted to run for the Legislature, so he started studying the issues that faced the state. He was elected in 2010, and served 12 years in the ND House of Representatives. Nelson was the Democratic-NPL candidate for Governor in 2016.

Nelson’s brother Mark said, “He is proud of his NPL roots as the organization was always for the people and against the big corporations, the banks, the insurance companies and the millers. The NPL exists to give the people a fair shot.”

Nelson was born and raised on a farm in Pierce County near the town of Rugby and attended the public schools there. Nelson attended NDSU Bottineau Branch and Institute of Forestry for two years. He then went to NDSU in Fargo where he earned a degree in entomology. He was a State Apiary Inspector during his college years. He’s traveled the many nooks and crannies of the state and has likely driven down every prairie trail. After university, he took a job as a crop consultant in Rolla.

After he married his wife Susan, and when she needed more room for her local business, he helped build a new store on Main Street in Rolla. They have two children, Jessica and Carl. Jessica owns the Furniture Connection in Rolla, and Nelson can often be found there fixing and maintaining things and clearing the parking lots of snow in the winter.

The keynote speaker of the 14th Annual Burdick Dinner is Rachel Bitecofer, a political scientist and election forecaster turned political strategist who authored Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts. DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said of Bitecofer’s book, “To protect democracy and elect pro-democracy candidates, we must go on offense, and this book is the guide to do just that!” Tickets are available at https://swift-cpa.net/donate/2024burdickdinner.

Last year’s keynote speaker was Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who is now running for Vice President.