Northeast Central Judicial District Presiding Judge Donald Hager has announced that he will retire effective January 1, 2027.
In a letter dated September 8, 2026 to Chief Justice Lisa Fair McEvers, Governor Kelly Armstrong noted that Presiding Judge Hager had notified him on September 8, 2026 of his intent to retire effective January 1, 2027.
Judge Hager was appointed to the North Dakota District Court in 2014 by Governor Jack Dalrymple, serving in Judgeship No. 1 of the Northeast Central Judicial District in Grand Forks. He was subsequently elected to the position in 2018 and 2024.
Born in 1955, Judge Hager served in the U.S. Navy from 1974 to 1980. After his honorable discharge, he went on to attend Mayville State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Administration in 1983. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1986 and was admitted to the North Dakota Bar on September 25, 1986.
Prior to joining the bench, Judge Hager practiced law in Larimore, North Dakota, where he maintained a private legal practice for nearly three decades.
View the governor's letter here: Download
