Two of Clay County’s five commissioner seats are on the ballot November 3. One of them is an open race, due to the retirement of long-time commissioner Kevin Campbell in District 4. Campbell is retiring after six terms, having served since 2003. The two candidates on the November ballot include political consultant Julian Dahlquist and retired deputy sheriff Scott Steffes, a 14-year veteran of the Moorhead Area Public Schools board. The district includes north Moorhead and parts of central Moorhead, as well as Oakport Township.
District 3, which covers most of the southern part of the county, has commissioner and board chairwoman Jenny Mongeau (first elected in 2014) running for a fourth term against Sabin Vice Mayor Tom Berglind, a volunteer firefighter assistant chief.
District 3 (including the cities of Barnesville, Comstock, Moorhead Ward 4-Precinct 12 and Sabin, along with the townships of Alliance, Barnesville, Eglon, Elkton, Elmwood, Hawley, Holy Cross, Humboldt, Kurtz, Moorhead, Parke, Skree and Tansem)
Jenny (Valan) Mongeau (incumbent)
Mongeau is a lifelong Clay County resident who has served on the Clay County Board since 2014, currently as chairwoman. Mongeau and her husband Brad are raising their four children on their fifth-generation farm in Kurtz Township. A Moorhead High School graduate, Mongeau earned an associate’s degree from Highland Community College.
In 2017, Mongeau was appointed by the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota to serve on the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Task Force, helping bring local and rural perspectives to the region’s largest ever infrastructure project. At the 2025 annual conference of the Association of Minnesota Counties, Mongeau was elected Second Vice President after serving on the board of directors for the organization.
High Plains Reader: How has your background prepared you for this role?
Jenny Mongeau: I grew up on a fifth-generation Clay County farm and have spent my life involved in this community. I’ve worked as a CNA (including overnight shifts), spent years in children’s ministry, managed a fitness center, coached, volunteered and been a 4-H leader for 20 years.
Each experience put me in a different setting and taught me something about people. I’ve learned to listen, build relationships, work with people who see things differently and keep moving when things don’t go as planned.
Those relationships have shaped my view of leadership. Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about gathering voices, staying present, listening and staying steady when things get hard. It takes the courage to keep showing up and doing the work.
I’ve brought that approach to 12 years on the Clay County Board and to my work with the Association of Minnesota Counties. I’ve had the opportunity to work with people across our county and state and I’ve learned that progress usually happens when people are willing to sit down together, listen to one another and find a path forward.
HPR: What are your top three campaign issues?
JM: My three priorities are one: fiscal responsibility and program integrity, two: public safety, and three: transportation and infrastructure.
Taxpayers deserve confidence that their money is spent responsibly. Clay County has strengthened employee training and internal controls around program integrity. We also need to address rising service costs, particularly out-of-home placements, and find better solutions with community partners. At the state level, I’ve worked with county leaders and legislators to address unfunded mandates that shift costs to local taxpayers.
Public safety means giving law enforcement the resources to do their jobs, while addressing problems before they become a crisis. We’ve worked closely with our sheriff, built a mental health wing into our correctional facility and expanded withdrawal management services. I’ve also worked with regional partners on psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTF) and juvenile detention initiatives, now supported by 29 counties, all 11 tribal nations, cities, Concordia College and MSUM.
Finally, our road system is essential to residents, agriculture and business. We have a five-year transportation plan and work with cities and townships to prioritize projects.
These issues require careful budgeting, collaboration and advocacy at every level of government.
HPR: What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for Clay County?
JM: Clay County has an opportunity many communities would love; we are growing. We’re one of the fastest-growing counties in Minnesota outside the Twin Cities metro, with vibrant communities, strong businesses, agriculture, educational institutions and people invested in making this a great place to live.
Our challenge is positioning ourselves to benefit from that growth rather than simply reacting to it. Growth brings new investment and opportunity, but it also pressures infrastructure, services and the workforce we need to support it.
As part of the Fargo-Moorhead region, we compete with North Dakota for businesses and jobs, and differences in state policy can make that challenging for Minnesota communities. That’s where collaboration matters. I’ve worked with the FMWF (Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo) Chamber, economic development organizations and business leaders to understand what businesses need and find creative ways Clay County can stay competitive. My work with Metro COG, the Clay County Planning Commission and highway planning has given me a regional perspective on transportation, land use and development.
I see tremendous potential here. We need to keep building on the partnerships we have, think creatively about the challenges ahead, and make sure Clay County is ready to capture that opportunity.
Tom Berglind
Berglind is the vice mayor of Sabin, having served on the city council since 2013. He’s also been a business owner and a volunteer firefighter for 20 years – now serving as assistant chief.
High Plains Reader: How has your background prepared you for this role?
Tom Berglind: My preparation comes from three directions. On the Sabin City Council, where I’ve served since 2013 — most of it as vice mayor — I’ve spent over a decade learning how a municipal budget reads and how to weigh competing needs against limited revenue. We delivered needed infrastructure improvements while holding tax increases at zero for several consecutive years, and later increases stayed below inflation.
I’ve also run a small business with annual revenue on a scale similar to the county levy, which meant making the same kind of spending and investment decisions a commissioner faces. And twenty years as a volunteer firefighter — now assistant chief — taught me what real service looks likes; showing up for your neighbors without expecting recognition.
I grew up on a farm in Norman County, so rural and small-town life isn’t an abstraction to me. Between city government, business, and the fire service, I’ve built the combination of budget discipline, hands-on service, and community perspective this job requires.
HPR: What are your top three campaign issues?
TB: One: fiscal discipline. Property taxes are essentially the county’s only revenue lever. My record on the Sabin City Council — zero tax increases for several years, then increases held below inflation — shows I take that seriously. I’d apply the same standard at the county level — scrutinize spending first, and treat a levy increase as a last resort.
Two: representation for every corner of District 3. From the rural townships through Sabin, Barnesville, Comstock and south Moorhead, every community deserves a commissioner who shows up in person, year-round — not just at election time. I grew up on a farm myself, so rural concerns aren’t new to me
Three: manage growth responsibly. Before taking on costly new expansion, the county should get full use out of what it already has. Maintenance and full utilization come first.
HPR: What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for Clay County?
TB: The biggest challenge isn’t unique to Clay County — it’s the rising cost of providing services, from roads and bridges to public safety, and that pressure eventually lands on the property tax levy. Obligations don’t shrink just because budgets tighten, so the board is constantly asked to do more with the same or fewer resources. Left unmanaged, that pressure makes tax increases the default answer, which strains property owners, farmers and small business owners alike.
But I see opportunity in that same challenge. It’s discipline, not difficulty, that defines how well a county is run. On the Sabin City Council, we proved you can deliver real infrastructure improvements without raising taxes for years, simply by scrutinizing spending and funding what we were actually responsible for. I’d bring that same approach to the county; hold the line on the levy, get more out of every dollar already collected, and reserve tax increases for when they’re truly necessary — not routine.
District 4 (Moorhead Ward 1-Precincts 1, 2, and 3, Moorhead Ward 2-Precinct 4 and Oakport Township)
Julian Dahlquist
Dahlquist grew up a northsider in Moorhead. He graduated from MSUM with a degree in art photography and a philosophy minor.
His great grandfather, Orlin S. Pratt, served on the Clay County Board of Commissioners for decades. His mother, Rochelle Dahlquist, served on the Moorhead City Council from 2018 to 2022. Dahlquist said he’s proud to have such a deep family connection to public service.
These days, Dahlquist owns his own business, consulting for local and state Democratic and progressive candidates with their political campaigns. Dahlquist also served as Clay County DFL chair, as well as on Moorhead’s Charter Commission.
High Plains Reader: How has your background prepared you for this role?
Julian Dahlquist: I hadn’t considered running until I was asked to run. That got me reflecting on my nearly 16 years of experience working with DFL and progressive candidates, as well as my flexible work schedule. I couldn’t come up with a good reason not to run after that.
I also see this as an opportunity to give back to the community that has given me so much. While managing campaigns and advising candidates, you have to do your homework. You have to talk to people, meet with local officials and public servants, and understand the issues going on in the community. You also have to work within your budget. It’s been a blessing to have had a front row seat to so many issues affecting our metro area and region.
HPR: What are your top three campaign issues?
JD: One: invest in, and protect, our social service and public health programs. Paul Wellstone said it best: “We all do better when we all do better” and I firmly believe in that. If we do our best to help the most vulnerable among us, every other part of our community improves.
Two: support our county staff. One of the most common issues I’ve heard among my years of campaign experience is that county employees are often stressed for a whole slate of reasons. I believe in supporting workers, and our incredible staff deserve an ally on the board.
Three: build up our infrastructure — roads, bridges, buildings. They all serve a vital role in our daily operations in Clay County and I believe that our infrastructure needs to stay both up-to-date and in good repair.
HPR: What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for Clay County?
JD: I know SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) funding cuts will pose a major challenge, and I want to do what I can to mitigate the impact of those cuts.
For opportunities, the population of Clay County has been growing steadily; families are choosing Clay County as their home, and we should lean into that. I love living in a community that plows its roads during the harsh winters, manages the waste of its residents and provides good quality education for its kids. We have great things going in Clay County and I want to build on that.
Scott Steffes
Steffes grew up in Glyndon and has worked in Clay County his entire life. Now retired, he spent 29 years as a Clay County Deputy Sheriff and has been working on a farm between Glyndon and Dilworth part-time.
Steffes has also been serving on the Moorhead Area Public Schools board for the past 14 years, including stints as chair, vice chair and treasurer. In addition, Steffes serves on the Lakes Country Services Cooperative Board and the Minnesota School Board Association Insurance Trust Board.
High Plains Reader: How has your background prepared you for this role?
Scott Steffes: During my time of service with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office I was a patrol deputy, K-9 handler for 12 years, driving instructor, field training officer and a warrants and transport deputy. During this time I had interactions with multiple departments within the Clay County government. I have also spent time speaking with Minnesota legislators about school budgets and funding.
HPR: What are your top three campaign issues?
SS: One: mental health/chemical dependency. While working with the sheriff’s office, I saw first hand what happens to individuals when they have a mental health crisis or what chemical dependency does to an individual.
Two: property taxes. Yes, we need to pay our property taxes, but we need to be vigilant on how those dollars are spent. I would like to find ways to lower the property taxes.
Three: federal and state cost shifts. Clay County and many counties in MN are facing financial pressure from anticipated funding shifts passed down from federal and state programs.
HPR: What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for Clay County?
SS: Clay County’s biggest opportunity is the 18-bed Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF), along with economic development funds for business expansion and childcare.
Clay County’s biggest challenges are federal and state cost shifts to the county, including shifts in funding for SNAP and Medicaid programs.
Voting early
Minnesota lets any voter cast an absentee ballot with no excuse required, starting 46 days before Election Day. This year, that window opens September 18 and runs through the day before the November 3 general election. Early voting occurs at the Clay County Government Center near the corner of 12th Ave. S. and 34th St. S. in Moorhead.
Finding your polling place
Voters can confirm their registration, request an absentee ballot and look up their assigned polling location at mnvotes.gov, the Minnesota Secretary of State’s official voter portal.
