Former lawmaker Steven Zaiser who championed legalizing medical marijuana in ND has died

Courtesy: Boulger Funeral Home

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) — A man who represented sections of Fargo and West Fargo in the North Dakota legislature for 12 years has died.

Seventy-five-year-old Steven Zaiser of Fargo died on October 2 at Lilac Homes Assisted Living Memory Care in Moorhead.

The Democrat represented District 21 in the state house from 2003-2014.

In 2012, he was chairman of an effort to legalize medical marijuana in the state. It was approved by voters in November 2016.

His career included community planning and development for the Devils Lake and Fargo-Moorhead municipalities.

Zaiser was also known as the co-founder of River Keepers and served as its executive director.

He was born in Montevideo, Minnesota and was a gradate of Moorhead State University.

Zaiser’s cremains will be interred at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Fargo, next to his son, Will.

A service at Boulger Funeral Home and Celebration of Life Center is set for 2 p.m. on May 15, 2027.