About John
I grew up in Duluth in a family supported by the iron ore of the Mesabi range and I have made my home and farm on the Bayfield Peninsula for a dozen years. My youth was all sports along with hunting and fishing up the north shore and along the south shore of Lake Superior. After a degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota I worked for newspapers in Montana and Minnesota until entering law school where I completed a partial degree before starting farming.
I grow vegetables for Bayfield Foods, a farm cooperative distributing local food in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. This 20-farm cooperative leaned heavily on their county extension agent for organizing into a band of growers dedicated to cooperative marketing and has achieved success. It reflects our region's survival – a creative economic solution through organizing.
In 2019 I was elected to the Town of Washburn board where I learned about road funding and the roles corporations play in state politics. I have also served on the library board, various cooperative boards and started a chapter of Wisconsin Farmers Union in Ashland and Bayfield counties. The Farmers Union founders believed--as do I--in rural organizing and cooperation to preserve rural landscapes and keep people on the land.
In 2019 I was elected to the Town of Washburn board where I learned about road funding and the roles corporations play in state politics. I have also served on the library board, various cooperative boards and started a chapter of Wisconsin Farmers Union in Ashland and Bayfield counties. The Farmers Union founders believed--as do I--in rural organizing and cooperation to preserve rural landscapes and keep people on the land.
