ELLSWORTH — Robert “Bob” Loberg of Loberg Law Office may not be born and raised in Ellsworth, but after spending his entire career in law in the village, he has become a cornerstone of the community.

Loberg earned a J.D. degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1976, spending a couple years as a clerk for Hudson’s Judge Bartholomew along the way.

“He said there’s a guy in Ellsworth who is looking for somebody; you should come down there. So, I did, came driving in on my motorcycle,” Loberg said. “I thought I’d stay for a year, and here I am.”

Loberg started alongside the late Ken Swanson in 1978, working together for three years prior to his death. Fast forward to 2026, and Loberg is still representing clients in Ellsworth daily.

“It’s gone by in a flash. I love what I do. I don’t intend to retire. It becomes a hobby. Just like a dairy farmer, milking cows becomes a hobby, and they only quit because their knees go bad,” Loberg said. “I’ve definitely bridged generations, because when I started, I was 23, so there were old timer lawyers who would have been born at the turn of the century.”

Loberg has seen it all over the years, including Wilbur Brookshaw doing the unheard of becoming an attorney without attending law school due to serving as an apprentice. He also recalled an old appeal process through the court system where all appeals in Pierce, Pepin, Dunn and St. Croix counties would go to Judge Bartholomew for a circuit court decision rather than the Court of Appeals seen today. He mentioned circuit courts earning the name because judges would ride horses or a train from town to town in America’s early days.

Now, Loberg works closely with his family, as his sons Lars and Jens round out Loberg Law Office’s attorney trio, and his wife Spring, originally from River Falls, is heavily involved in the Pierce, St. Croix and Dunn County Abstract and Title companies they have opened over Loberg’s 50 years.

“It’s pretty awesome. I enjoy working with my sons and helping them,” Loberg said. “My kids grew up listening to me do legal work. So, it’s no surprise that they wanted to do it, although it’s still rare. Neither Lars nor Jens ever gave any hint that they would be interested in being lawyers. We never talked about it; they just did it.”

Loberg Law Office has a new location after constructing a building in Ellsworth’s Crossing Meadows. The office was previously in one building on Main Street that then expanded to the left and right before they simply ran out of room to work with. With the courthouse moving from Main Street to the Crossing Meadows area, it was a logical place to construct the new office.

“We just outgrew them. I didn’t have a proper office, we had one conference room,” Loberg said. “We had to do something. Had architects look at what we had there, but there was just no way.”

Spring led the charge in the creation of the new building, working hard to perfect the designs and find the perfect woodworking to make the building pop. The two met at Proch’s Ballroom in 1979 at the site that is currently a car wash. The Lobergs went on to own the building from 1981-85, and it burned down 10 years after they sold it.

Loberg has done a lot in the community over the years, including serving on the Snowfest Committee, the Polka Fest Committee, as President of the Ellsworth Commercial Club (now the Chamber of Commerce), as Rod & Gun Club Board President, as Cub and Boy Scout Assistant Scoutmaster, taught religious education and swimming lessons.

As an attorney, Loberg has represented many of the area’s townships and individuals. His favorite memory was preserving Maiden Rock Point.

“Interacting with people, talking to people, helping them solve their problems. There’s great pleasure to be had in it,” Loberg said. “That’s true as well for the staff that work here.”