The Good Life – March-April 2020

HAVING A BEER WITH | MAYOR JUDD
WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
While most native Midwesterners woefully threaten to
move south due to the long, drawn-out and brutal winters,
the mayor of Moorhead, Minn., is thankful for the cooler
temperatures. Originally from Raleigh, N.C., Johnathan Judd
moved to North Dakota and began attending Fargo North as
a senior in high school to live with his best friend’s family
and experience something new for a year.
It’s been 28 years since he made that decision, and he hasn’t
looked back. With a wife, three kids, friends and a successful
career as mayor and M-State’s new director of equity and
inclusion, it’s clear his roots have grown deep into the
Minnesota soil.
We sat down in Drekker’s Brewhalla for a little chat and a
brew as he told me more about the direction his life has
taken, from poverty to opportunity. Read on to learn more
about Moorhead’s mayor.
14 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
Good Life: What have you thought of this area since
moving up here? Obviously, it’s extremely different
climate-wise, the terrain—everything.
Johnathan Judd: The people. When I went to Fargo
North my senior year, the families were awesome and
just welcomed me. I felt like I was home. Obviously, it
took time to adjust, but the people helped build me up
to where I am today. That’s why I stayed. And I hate hot
weather. I’d rather be cold than hot.
GL: Did you ever think you’d get into politics?
JJ: I always thought I’d work in a campaign, like as a
strategist or something, but as the actual candidate, no.
Although my aunt tells me I said at some point that I’d be
governor of North Carolina.