Gary Wertish
Gary Wertish was elected Minnesota Farmers Union President in a special election in January 2017. Gary and his wife, Jeanne, have four children and four grandchildren. Gary ran a diversified…
Read MoreAnne Schwagerl
Anne Schwagerl was elected as the MFU State Vice President in 2021, after serving as the MFU State Secretary for five years. She and her husband, Peter, own and operate…
Read MoreCarol Anderson
Carol Anderson and her husband, Steve, farm 450 acres in Benton County. Carol graduated from Foley High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in public administration from…
Read MoreTed Winter
Ted was elected to the MFU Executive Committee from District 3 in 2017. He serves as the President of the Rock & Nobles County Farmers Union and has operated his…
Read MoreLinda Larson
Linda was elected to the MFU Executive Committee in February 2019 to represent District 5. Raised on a small family farm near Ruthton in southwestern Minnesota, she moved closer to the Twin…
Read MoreSteve Linder
Steve Linder was elected to the MFU Executive Committee in 2019 representing District 1. His son and daughter-in-law, Ben and Lexi, took over the farm in rural Oklee in 2022. He is…
Read MoreJoshua VanDerPol
Joshua VanDerPol was elected to the Minnesota Farmers Union Executive Committee from District 2 in 2018 and is Chippewa County President. He also represents Minnesota Farmers Union on the Meat Processing Working…
Read MoreMissy Bakker Roach
Melissa Bakker Roach, Secretary was elected as the MFU State Secretary in 2022 and serves as the President of St. Louis County Farmers Union. She grew up in South Minneapolis and spent…
Read MoreAriel Kagan
Ariel Kagan joined the MFU team as the Climate and Working Lands Program Director in February 2023. Her background is in agricultural economics and policy and she has worked across…
Read MoreClaudine Arndt
Claudine Arndt began her adventures with MFU in 2011, starting part-time and eventually growing into her role as the Membership and Minnesota Cooks™ Director. Having descended from a long line…
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