Knute Nelson was a Norwegian-born American attorney and politician active in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A Republican, he served in state and national positions: he was elected to the Wisconsin and Minnesota legislatures and to the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate from Minnesota, and served as the 12th governor of Minnesota from 1893 to 1895. Having served in the Senate for 28 years, 55 days, he is the longest-serving Senator in Minnesota's history.

Evanger is a former municipality in the Voss district of the old Hordaland county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1885 until 1964 when it was dissolved and its lands split between two municipalities. The 590-square-kilometre (230 sq mi) municipality included the eastern part of the Eksingedalen valley, the area surrounding the lake Evangervatnet, and the Bergsdalen valley.