Harlem mayor Hansen dies at 71

Harlem Mayor and former state Sen. Ken "Kim" Hansen died of natural causes Saturday at age 71.

Harlem City Clerk Becky Schroeder said City Council President Chris Green is serving as mayor, with a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday to decide whether he, or another council member, will finish out Hansen's term, which lasts until 2025.

Hansen, who operated a farm near Harlem before moving to town, was born in 1951 and graduated from Harlem High School in 1971.

He attended Northern Montana College, now Montana State University-Northern, and Montana State University in Bozeman.

Hansen was active in the community, volunteering for many positions including the local ambulance crew and fire department and numerous boards and committees and served on the school board.

Hansen was elected as a Democrat to the state Senate in 2002 and 2006, serving in the Legislature until he termed out in 2011.

He introduced former President Bill Clinton when Clinton campaigned for his wife, Hillary, in Havre in 2008.

Hansen joined Harlem City Council in 2012, then was elected mayor by acclamation with no opponent in 2017 after incumbent Bill Taylor decided not to run for re-election.

He then ran for Blaine County commissioner. He lost the 2018 election to Republican Miles Hutton of Turner.

Hansen won a hotly contested race for Harlem mayor in 2021, advancing from a four-way primary and then defeating Douglas Stuart in the general election.

See a full obituary on Page A5 in today's edition of Havre Daily News.