The North Dakota Public Service Commission is a constitutional agency that maintains various degrees of statutory authority over utilities, telecommunications, railroads, grain elevators, pipeline safety, and other functions in North Dakota.
Established before North Dakota became a state, the Dakota Territory established a Board of Railroad Commissioners in 1885 to oversee railroads, sleeping car, express and telephone companies. With the state's creation in 1889, the board was known as the North Dakota Railroad Commission. In 1940, the name was changed to the Public Service Commission. The commission currently consists of three Commissioners who are elected on a statewide basis to staggered six-year terms.[1]
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All three of the current Public Service Commissioners are from the North Dakota Republican Party.
Dr. Brian Kalk was elected Public Service Commissioner in the November election and is currently running for US House. Brian’s background brings a wealth of experience for North Dakota – he was raised in a small town, traveled the world as a U.S. Marine, returned to North Dakota to teach college and now serves North Dakota as a statewide elected official. He and his wife Karen will have been married twenty years this summer. They have one daughter. Brian was born and raised in Bottineau, North Dakota and graduated from Bottineau High School in 1984. He then attended college at Dakota College in Bottineau prior to his enlistment in the Marine Corps in 1987. As an enlisted man, he served around the world as a communication non-commissioned officer. He deployed and served in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm resulting in the liberation of Kuwait. Brian has traveled to over thirty different countries. While in the Marine Corps, he received his Bachelors’ Degree in Political Science from Campbell University, N.C., and was then selected to Officers Candidate School and commissioned in Quantico, Va. As a Logistics Officer he participated in numerous operations and exercises at home and abroad, to include the evacuations of the American Embassies in Liberia and the Central African Republic. In June 1999, Major Kalk was selected to the Marine Corps Advanced Degree Program; returned to North Dakota and earned his Masters in Environmental Engineering from North Dakota State University. Brian was then assigned to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton as the Base Environmental Compliance Officer in 2001. In February 2003, Major Kalk deployed as the Forward Operations Officer for Transportation Support Group One, providing critical logistics support to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Kuwait and Iraq during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. During the summer of 2003 he returned to North Dakota and assumed command of the Fargo Military Entrance Processing Station until his retirement. During that time he received his Doctorate in Natural Resource Management from North Dakota State University. Upon his retirement, he was hired by the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at NDSU. While at NDSU, he taught a variety of courses in Political Science, Transportation and Logistics, and Natural Resource Management. In January 2008, Dr. Brian Kalk announced he would be seeking the Republican nomination for Public Service Commissioner. He then launched an energetic campaign that propelled him through a spirited contest at the Republican State Convention in March and culminated in his election to the Public Service Commissioner in November. Brian brings a wealth of education, experience, and expertise to the Public Service Commission and is currently pursuring a race for U.S. House. He has remained very active in service organizations, such as the American Legion, the Marine Corps League, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Veterans. His Military Awards and Decorations are as follows:
Defense Meritorious Service Medal Navy and USMC Achievement Medal Presidential Unit Citation Navy Unit Citation The USMC Good Conduct Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Exped Medal Armed Forces Service Medal Volunteer Service Medal NATO Medal Navy and USMC Commendation Medal The Combat Action Ribbon Joint Meritorious Unit Citation Meritorious Unit Citation National Defense Service Medal Southwest Asia Service Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Sea Service Deployment Ribbons Kuwait Liberation Medals
Kevin Cramer was appointed to the commission in 2003 by Governor John Hoeven, and was subsequently elected to the commission in 2004 by over 65 percent of the vote. He will face re-election in 2010. Prior to his tenure as commissioner, Cramer served under Governor Ed Schafer as the State Tourism Director from 1993 to 1997, and as the state's Economic Development Director from 1997 to 2000. Cramer twice was the Republican challenger to incumbent Earl Pomeroy for North Dakota's At-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives; in 1998, and in 1996.[2]
Tony Clark was elected to the commission in 2000, and was re-elected in 2006. Prior to being elected Public Service Commissioner, Clark served in the cabinet of Governor Ed Schafer as Labor Commissioner, and was the Administrative Officer for the state Tax Department. He is a former state legislator, representing Fargo's District 44 in the state House of Representatives from 1994 to 1997.[3]
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