Riemers was an early adopter of solar energy, and in the 1970s built and lived in the first completely solar-powered home in the northern United States. He currently works as a real estate investor and manager.[2]
During the 1996 Democratic Party presidential primaries, incumbent President Bill Clinton refused to file for the North Dakota primary because its early date violated national party rules. As a result, the only candidates on the ballot were Riemers, fellow North Dakotan Vernon Clemenson, and controversial political activist Lyndon LaRouche. Riemers prevailed, receiving 41% of the vote to LaRouche's 34% and Clemenson's 24% in a low-turnout race which saw fewer than 15% of voters participate.[6]
In 2014, Riemers ran for North Dakota Secretary of State as a Libertarian and placed third with 5.3% of the vote. In 2016, he was the Libertarian nominee for North Dakota State Auditor. Because no Democrat ran, Riemers faced Republican Josh Gallion in a head-to-head matchup, and while he lost the election by nearly 54 points, he won strongly Democratic Rolette and Sioux counties.[5] In 2018, Riemers again ran for Secretary of State, but was unable to make it onto the ballot and launched a write-in campaign for North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner instead.[9]
In 2024, Riemers ran in the Democratic–Nonpartisan League primary for North Dakota's lone House seat. He simultaneously filed to run for a seat on the Grand Forks School Board.[13] He finished last in both races, earning 26.26% in the Congressional primary[14] and 4.9% in the School Board race.[15]
Riemers opposed the CARES Act, the $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill designed to combat the economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of business closures, he favored social distancing measures and herd immunity to fight the pandemic.[11]
Legal issues
In 2012, Riemers' address was placed on the sex offender registry after he let a convicted sex offender move in with him.[19]
In May 2017, Riemers was charged with domestic assault after allegedly striking his wife, Meixiang Liu. The charges were dismissed that September, citing insufficient evidence.[20][21]
In October 2022, Reimers was charged with a Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct after a one-day trial. Riemers had parked his car near the train tracks at the intersection of 55th Street N. and DeMers Ave. in Grand Forks, ND and attempted to put a BNSF Railway train and all of its staff under citizen's arrest for blocking the road for more than 10 minutes. During the trial he stated “I am an activist against train blockages in Grand Forks, I consider this a serious problem.” It took 20 minutes for the jury to reach a guilty verdict and he was sentenced to 360 days of unsupervised probation and a $500 fine. [22]