Boll was, somewhat unintentionally, one of the key players in the DFL Party's "firestorm" that swept through southwestern Minnesota in the mid-1980s at the height of the Midwestern Farm Crisis.
[3] Utilizing a steady stream of scathing editorials and letters-to-the-editor in over thirty area newspapers, he made the case for change over the course of five election cycles, helping the DFL experience unprecedented success in the traditionally Republican small towns and rural communities of the region.
Growing up in Minnesota and Wisconsin, his conservative religious background and schooling at a Lutheran college in New Ulm served as the contrasting catalyst for the more liberal views he displayed once he became active in the Democratic Party.
Touted as bringing a younger voice to the DFL, Boll quickly rose through the ranks to become a party leader and "whiz kid" of sorts.
In that role, he helped promote candidates for the congressional seat held by Republican Vin Weber—among them Dave Johnson, Todd Lundquist and, later, David Minge.
The following year he was asked by the Minnesota House and Senate DFL caucuses to be their point man for finding and recruiting candidates to run for the various legislative seats in the area.
At the time, the large district included all or portions of Brown, Cottonwood, Jackson, Martin, Murray, Nobles, Redwood and Watonwan counties.
He also implemented multiple literature drops to and door-knocking of every home in the district, and generated a steady flow of press releases on issues relevant to local residents that were distributed to area media outlets.
[8] Once printed, Isackson's letter proved to be a rambling diatribe that expressed his sense of frustration and feeling of being overwhelmed by the intensity of the campaign that Boll, Vickerman and other Democrats had waged against him, stating that, no matter where he turned, all he heard or read about was how bad his voting record was, and how he had failed the district as a senator.
In 1993, Boll moved to the Twin Cities to continue his work with a real estate and property management company that specialized in student and market rate housing.
He turned his energies briefly to involvement with several Minneapolis organizations that promoted social change and helped homeless and troubled inner city youth.