Neil Hensrud

Hensrud was born on October 25, 1940, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the son of Adelaide (née Brusegaard) and Ingman "Sparky" Hensrud, who served in the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1966 until his death in 1974.^[1][2] He earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of North Dakota. He served in he U.S. Army and Army Reserve, serving as an assistant professor of military science and rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.^[1]

Hensrud was elected to the Grand Forks city council in 1970, and rose to be vice president of that body.^[3] Following the death of his father, he was elected to the state house of representatives in 1974.^[4] He did not seek re-election to the state house in 1976, clearing the way for future North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem to seek his seat.^[5][3] In March 1978, Hensrud was appointed to fill the seat of a Grand Forks County Commissioner who had died the previous week.^[6] In 1980, he announced he would run for mayor of Grand Forks, but withdrew, instead running a losing campaign for county superintendent of schools.^[7][8] While he filed for re-election as county commissioner in 1982, he accepted a job out of state and did not campaign.^[9]

Hensrud relocated to Wisconsin, accepting the job of director of the state's Small Business Development Center, and he went on to become a professor of business at the University of Wisconsin–Superior. After retiring in the early 2000s, he became a property development specialist in Lake Nebagamon, becoming a member and then president of the village board. He battled progressive supranuclear palsy in his later years, and died in Minneapolis on January 22, 2025.^[1]