Andrew Grindeland

Who is Andrew Grindeland?

Andrew Grindeland was a lawyer and judge in Warren, Minnesota and a Minnesota state senator. He was born in Highlandville, Iowa and educated at the Decorah Institute in Decorah, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Iowa law school in 1882. He opened a law practice that year in the frontier town of Warren. He served on the city council and as city recorder. He drafted the Warren city charter. He engaged in the real estate firm of Grindeland & Forsberg. From 1889 to 1900, he was probate judge of Marshall County, Minnesota. He served one term in the Minnesota State Senate from 1899–1903, giving up his seat to unsuccessfully seek the Republican nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1902, he took on as an associate Julius J. Olson, who eventually became a Minnesota Supreme Court justice. In March 1903, Governor Samuel Van Sant appointed him to the district court bench. He was elected in 1904, and re-elected in 1910, 1916, 1922, and 1928. He retired on November 26, 1930.

Grindeland married Inger Forde of Big Canoe, Iowa in 1882. They had one son and six daughters. In addition to his judicial work, he served on the boards of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America, St. Olaf College, Luther College in Decorah, and Grand Forks College. While on the bench, he served as president of the Warren Commercial Club. He died in Warren on October 28, 1932, of a heart attack. His papers are reposited at the Minnesota Historical Society.