Jon Lindgren

Jon Gilmore Lindgren was the mayor of Fargo, North Dakota, an advocate for LGBT rights, and a professor at North Dakota State University.

Early life and education

Lindgren was born in Lanyon, Iowa in 1939. He received a B.S. in 1960 from Iowa State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 1968. Jon Lindgren was Chair of the Economics Department at North Dakota State University.

Mayoralty

Lindgren served as mayor of Fargo, North Dakota from 1978-1994 and was the second longest serving mayor; he was succeeded by Bruce Furness.

Lindgren was staunchly opposed to the 12th Avenue bridge connecting Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota, before he was elected mayor of Fargo. He did not agree with the findings of the Bridge Company and other organizations. Lindgren did not feel a bridge was necessary and he focused on the impact the bridge would have on residential neighborhoods, the environment, the structure of the bridge, who would pay for its construction, and how feasible the bridge would be economically.^[1] Lindgren held some liberal views on LGBT rights and abortion, which caused some controversy within the city.

LGBT rights

Lindgren was probably the first elected official in North Dakota to express support for gay rights in North Dakota.

The Fargo LGBT community had several popular hangouts in the 1970s, i.e. "The Flame" bar, Roger's Sandwich Shop on Broadway and a Chinese restaurant that became a disco at night.^[2] However, no business existed that primarily catered to the gay community.

It was in the early 1980s that a business owner named Lenny Tweeden sought to open a gay bar named "My Place", in the face of significant local opposition. As mayor, Lindgren was supportive in the right of this establishment to exist. Years later, Tweeden said that "My Place" survived for as long as it did, thanks in no small part to Lindgren.^[3]

While Lindgren was unable to pass any city wide LGBT civil right bill as mayor, he did issued several official pride proclamations in the 1980s, which were opposed by a majority of the city council, and publicly expressed his support for LGBT rights.^[4][5]

Abortion

Lindgren was instrumental in helping to keep violence to a minimum during the 1980s - early 1990s, when some pro-life advocates were willing to use violence to advance their cause.^[6]

Other work

Jon is a former president of the Red River Free Thinkers^[7] and publishes frequently on their website. Lindgren's blog, Views of a Freethinker is a Featured Areal Voices^[8] in Forum Communicate Company's^[9] newspapers. Since the blog's inception in 2011 it has had over half a million visits.

See also

• Ten Percent Society, LGBT rights group based in North Dakota

References