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Exhibits - North Dakota Governors - C. Norman Brunsdale

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C. NORMAN BRUNSDALE

Twenty-fourth Governor

• Residence: Mayville, Traill County
• Years Served: 1951-1957
• Date of Inauguration: January 3, 1951
• Age at Inauguration: 59
• Politics: Republican
• Born: Sherbrook, North Dakota - July 9, 1891
• Died: Mayville, North Dakota - January 1978

Political Background:

• 1927-1934, 1940-1950: North Dakota State Senate
• 1951-1957: Governor of North Dakota
• 1959-1960: United States Senator

Clarence Norman Brunsdale was educated in public schools and the Bruflat Academy at Portland, North Dakota. In 1913 he graduated from Luther College at Decorah, Iowa. He returned to Portland where he taught at Bruflat and worked the family farm operations in Traill and Steele counties.

Governor Brunsdale takes part in a ceremony at Garrison
Dam, demonstrating hydroelectric "power on the line,"
June 1956.

As governor, Brunsdale was an avid supporter of water development projects. During his administration Garrison Dam was completed and the Legislature established the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District. The early 1950s also saw the establishment of the Highway Department and the passage of major highway legislation. Education, agriculture, and mental health issues were also important to Governor Brunsdale. Former Governor Norman Brunsdale was appointed to the U.S. Senate upon the death of William Langer.

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