Sageng was born in Østerdalen, Norway and emigrated to the United States, with his family, in 1878 and settled near Dalton, Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Sageng was a member of the Populist Party and was a supporter of women's suffrage and of Prohibition in the United States.
[1][2][3] In the 1938 United States House of Representatives elections, Sageng was the Republican nominee for Minnesota's 9th congressional district.
[4] He finished second behind incumbent Rich T. Buckler (Farmer-Labor) and ahead of Martin O. Brandon (Democratic).
[6] In 1950, Sageng defeated Colvin G. Butler in a nonpartisan election for a seat in the Minnesota Senate.