39-year North Dakota public servant Bruce Hagen dies

Bruce Hagen, who served on North Dakota’s Public Service Commission for 39 years, died Thursday at age 94 in Bismarck.

Hagen is believed to be the only Democrat to serve on the state’s Public Service Commission. 

The Devils Lake native was appointed to fill a vacancy on the three-member board in 1961 by Gov. William Guy. He was reelected to six six-year terms, choosing not to run for reelection in 2000.

He was known for reaching across party lines.

“Two parties are healthy for all levels of government and regulatory commissioners are no exception,” he wrote in an article submitted in 2006 to the National Regulatory Research Institute.  

The PSC regulates utilities and telecommunications, oversees siting for pipelines and energy projects and has a hand in grain and railroad regulations. Hagen and his contemporaries are credited with spearheading the regulation of coal, electricity, oil and gas and electricity in North Dakota. 

His career spanned North Dakota extending telephone service to the entire state in the 1970s to regulating cellphone service in the 1990s.

“I believe that in our capitalist democratic system of government, regulation of monopolies is very important. The counter-balancing power of the people through a fair system of regulation helps preserve democracy,” Hagen wrote in the 2006 article. 

After leaving office, Hagen cited accomplishments such as the PSC taking on reclamation of coal-mined land in 1969, creating what he referred to as “the best reclamation system in the world.”

Hagen also chaired a committee under Gov. George Sinner’s administration to coordinate the state’s first observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1986, after it became a federal holiday.

He made unsuccessful runs for Congress in 1968 and 1978. 

Former North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan said that Hagen stood out among state leaders for his lifelong service.

“There was one North Dakotan named Bruce Hagen who, for decades, relentlessly continued his dedicated public service to our state,” Dorgan, a Democrat, said Friday in an email. “He was a thoughtful, quiet leader whose judgement on important issues always supported the best interests of the people he served.” 

Hagen first got involved with politics in 1960, when he was invited to campaign with Guy, who was running for governor. Hagen at the time unsuccessfully ran for commissioner of agriculture and labor as a Democratic-NPL candidate. He spent a short time as deputy registrar for motor vehicles before his appointment to the Public Service Commission.

Susan Wefald, a Republican who served alongside Hagen on the Public Service Commission in the 1990s, called Hagen a thoughtful and outgoing commissioner who always did his homework. She noted he was known to save every paper that came across his desk.

Hagen’s daughter Marin said she has fond memories of visiting her father’s office and joining him in parades during campaign season. 

She said when her father traveled to Washington, D.C., for an annual conference for utility regulators, he always insisted on staying with family or friends so the state wouldn’t have to spend taxpayer money on his lodging.

“That’s just how he was programmed,” she said. “He always did the right thing.”

Marin described her father as a “voracious reader” and a lifelong learner. He also enjoyed gardening, traveling and spending time in nature. She said when her family would visit relatives in Devils Lake, her father would always stop the car and take a moment to admire the landscape.

“He always wanted to look at the land, and I sort of rolled my eyes when I was younger,” she recalled. “I appreciate it now.”

In 1988, Sinner awarded Hagen the North Dakota National Leadership Award of Excellence. At the time, Hagen was serving as the president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

In announcing that he would not seek reelection in 2000, Hagen said: “I have enjoyed and appreciated working on the commission over all these years to help the vital, necessary industries change, modernize and become more efficient while bringing reasonably priced services to North Dakota people.” 

In 2018, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party recognized Hagen with the Spirit of the Non-Partisan League Award. 

Hagen served in the Korean War. He continued to farm in Benson and Ramsey counties during his years in office. Funeral services, which have not yet been scheduled, will be at Parkway Funeral Home in Bismarck and at the Norway Lutheran Church Cemetery west of Devils Lake.