Law career leads to key RTC project role

By Susan Larson | The Daily Journal

Published 12:00 p.m., June 16, 2007

Kent Mattson knew early on he wanted to become an attorney.

“I liked the ability to have a profession that had independence to it. It seemed to me a lawyer could do a lot of things outside of just being in the courtroom …. When I first graduated from law school, I had a different idea of where my career would go.”

He certainly had no idea it could lead him to the center of the multi-faceted project that has become the Regional Treatment Center. For about six years, he has been the city’s Kirkbride/RTC project consultant.

“The whole RTC project has been about merging people and relationships, trying to build a consensus on a solution to all of the challenges we’ve faced over the years,” he said. “It’s pretty rare to have a project with the life the RTC project has had since 2001.”

In 2001, when it became public knowledge that the state was moving out of the RTC campus, community members began talking about ways to keep the state’s presence in Fergus Falls. Mattson was part of the group

“We wanted to keep those programs and jobs here,” he said. “I was the one who got the privilege of working on it day to day and it evolved into a working relationship with the city to coordinate all of the arms of this octopus.”

It has involved more than finding ways to reuse the campus buildings. First on the agenda was retaining the mental health, chemical dependency and Catholic Charities program for youth in the community.

“There are so many stakeholders involved — the state and the various agencies within the state. Every time I almost get one problem solved, the problem changes or compounds. Multiple solutions pop up at the same time, but they don’t all have a common solution. It seemed, in the early years, that we were just doing a lot of meeting and negotiating and not getting any traction.”

When ground was broken about two years ago for the new Catholic Charities facility that Mattson felt a vital corner had been turned.

“I saw that we were able to transition them off campus into a state-of-the-art facility. It signaled that we had done something and we could move onto the next thing.”

Mattson acknowledges that there is still a long way to go before the RTC issue is complete, but he intends to see it through to the end.

“I’ve known Kent quite a while,” Mayor Russ Anderson said. “I know he is a very thorough person and he leaves no stone unturned. He has the experience and credibility and integrity to handle this and he’s a public presence who is respected.”

Born in Roseau, Minn., Mattson later moved to Moorhead. Late in his high school career, he moved to Fergus Falls, graduating in 1985 from Fergus Falls High. He completed undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

While attending the University of Minnesota law school in Minneapolis, Mattson began clerking with the Pemberton, Sorlie, Rufer and Kershner law firm. After graduating from law school in 1993, they offered him a job. He is now a managing partner.

“While clerking here and going to law school, it became apparent that I wanted to work outside the Metro area. I was lucky enough that they offered me a job here.” His wife, the former Nancy Zender, is a Fergus Falls native. “So it was just natural to come back here,” Mattson said.

Litigation and trials filled Mattson’s early career.

“I did work for Wal-Mart, so I spent a lot of time on the road defending Wal-Marts throughout the state. It put me on the road a lot, litigating in different parts of the state. In 1999, I began to focus more on types of work that would keep me more in town.”

Today he works for banks, such as loan documentation; representing creditors; business development; hospitals and clinics.

“I have a very unusual practice in that I have a diverse set of clients through the county and the region. All of that presents you with a different set of challenges on a daily basis. You never get bored … I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work in a solid community like Fergus Falls and be able to work with so many people over the years in the private and public sector.”

When he slips out of lawyer-mode, boating on the lake and hunting for deer and grouse are some favorite pastimes.

“Like any young person with a family, I like to spend as much time as I can with my family,” he said.

Mattson and his wife are the parents of Brianna, 16; Joe, 10; Tom, 8; and Elizabeth, 5.

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