Lonnie Wangen Portrait
Commissioner

Accreditation:
American Legion
American Veterans (AMVETS)
ND Department of Veterans Affairs
National Association of County Veterans Service Officers (NACVSO)
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA)
Non Commissioned Officers Association

Member of ACOVA
Department of Veterans Affairs and Budget Subcommittee
Veterans Legislative Council
Ex-Officio

Training:
Training, Responsibility, Involvement and Preparation of Claims (T.R.I.P.)
National Veterans Legal Services Program Basic Training
VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)
National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs

Appointed April 2008

4201 38th Street SW
Suite 104
Fargo, ND 58104-7535


Work Phone:
(701) 239-7165

Fax:
(701) 239-7166

Biography:

Member of Veterans Organizations

  • American Legion
  • AMVETS
  • DAV
  • VFW
  • VVA Associate member
  • IAVA
  • TREA
  • Team Red, White, and Blue

Education: 

  • Bachelors Degree in Business
  • Masters in Management
  • Masters in Business Administration Masters concentration in Human Resources

Organizations, Committees served on:

  • VA Secretary Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee VRHAC (2017-present)
  • National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs (NASDVA)
    • Member 2008-present
    • President 2014-2015
    • Executive Committee 2009-present
    • Treasurer 2020-present
  • Administrative Committee on Veterans Affairs ACOVA (2008-present)
  • ND Veterans Legislative Council NDVLC (2008-present)
  • ND Military Academic Advisory Council MCMC or Multi-State Collaborative on Military Credit Committee (2011-present)
  • Workforce Development Council-ND Governor Appointed (2012-2015)
  • VALOR Advisory Board 
  • Congressman Cramer' Veterans Advisory Committee (2014-2019)
  • ND Statewide Aging Collaborative (Since 2018)
  • Task Force for Veterans Affairs (2018-2020)
  • Complete Count Task Force Governor Appointed (2019-2020)
  • ISFAC (Inter Service Family Assistance Committee) 2008-2019
  • ND Cares Executive Committee (2013-present)
  • Task Force MIND (Military Issues in North Dakota) (2018-present)
  • Veterans Court Exploratory Committee (2010-2021) Chair
  • Veterans Court. Northeast Central Judicial District (2020-present)
  • ND America 250 Commission. Legislative appointment (2021-present) 
  • Service Dogs For America Review Board (2015-present)
  • Committee to end Veteran Homelessness in ND (2019-present) Chair
  • Fisher House ND Committee (2019-present) Chair
  • Horace Lions President 2020

Recognitions:

  • 2015 Recipient of the NASDVA "Iron Mike" award
  • Commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel by Steve Beshear- Governor of Kentucky in 2015
  • 2012 recipient of the American Legion's "Department Commander's Award"
  • Lions International Fellowship (2020)
  • VA Secretary Pillars of Excellence Award (2016 and 2017)

37-18-04. Duties of commissioner: It is the duty of the commissioner to coordinate agencies or instrumentalities of the state set up to render service and benefits to returning veterans; to have charge of and implement programs and benefits authorized by statute; to assist or represent veterans or their widows, administrators, executors, guardians, or heirs, in processing claims; to advise and assist veterans in taking advantage of the provisions of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 [Pub. L. 78-346; 58 Stat. 291], or any similar or related measures afforded by the federal government; to provide counties with recommended qualifications and standards for county veterans' service officers; to assist counties with training of county veterans' service officers; to provide county veterans' service officers with educational materials; to assist county veterans' service officers in the performance of their duties; to disseminate information; and to do any and all things necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying out the intent and purposes of this chapter.