Hon. Donald Hager is a judge for the Northeast Central Judicial District of North Dakota. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jack Dalrymple in 2014, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Sonja Clapp (Ret.).
The Northeast Central Judicial District includes Grand Forks and Nelson Counties.
During his judicial tenure, Hager has served as Presiding Judge of the Northeast Central Judicial District.
Prior to his appointment, he managed his own private practice, the Don Hager Law Office, in Larimore for twenty-eight years (1986 to 2014). Hager also spent thirteen years as the city attorney and city prosecutor for Larimore and was a former city attorney for fifteen municipalities and governmental subdivisions. In addition, he served as the indigent defense attorney for Grand Forks and the City of Grand Forks and was appointed special assistant attorney general for the Bank of North Dakota in 2003.
He taught accounting, tax, business law, and management as a tenured staff member at Lake Region State College and was also an instructor at Park University on the Grand Forks Air Force Base as well as the University of Mary.
He received a B.S.B.A. from Mayville State University in 1983. Hager went on to complete a J.D. at the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1986. He was admitted to practice in North Dakota (1986) and Minnesota (1986).
His memberships have included the State Bar of North Dakota and the Grand Forks County Bar Association.
Hager served in the United States Navy (1974 to 1980).