Arlan Ingehart Stangeland was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1930. His family moved to Moorhead, Minnesota in 1936, and he attended school in Moorhead, graduating in 1948. Stangeland became a farmer in Wilkin County, Minnesota, gradually becoming active in Minnesota politics. He was a delegate to the State Republican Convention from 1964 to 1968, and was elected to the Minnesota legislature in 1966 as a representative from the Barnesville area.
In 1977 seventh district congressman Robert Bergland resigned his office to become U.S. secretary of agriculture. Stangeland was elected in a special election to serve the remainder of Bergland's term, then won the seat in the election of 1978, going on to serve six full terms in Congress. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, he was most active in a number of issues concerning farming, and lent his support to several farming bills. After losing his bid for re-election in 1990, Stangeland became a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
From the guide to the Moorhead office congressional files., 1970-1991., (Minnesota Historical Society)
