Sinner, George A.

George A. Sinner was born May 19, 1928, the youngest of four children of Albert and Katherine (Wild) Sinner. The family lived on a farm near Casselton, N.D. He attended St. John's Preparatory School and went on to obtain college degree from Saint John's University at Collegeville, Minnesota. Sinner credits his years at Saint John's for his life-long commitment to public service. In 1950 he enlisted in the Air National Guard at Fargo and was called to active duty in 1951. He married Elizabeth "Jane" Sinner in 1951. After military service he returned to the family farming operation at Casselton. The Mr. and Mrs. Sinner raised ten children. George Sinner's entry into politics was in 1962 when he won a seat in the North Dakota Senate. In 1964 he ran for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives but lost to incumbent Mark Andrews. Sinner also chaired circa 1966/1967 the board of directors that established the Southeast Region Mental Health and Retardation Clinic in Fargo. In 1967 Governor Guy appointed him to the State Board of Higher Education. Sinner continued to be very active in politics and local issues, serving as a member of the 1972 North Dakota Constitutional Convention. He chaired a group that successfully worked for a new greenhouse complex at North Dakota State University as well as an ad hoc group that organized the Northern Crops Institute in 1981, located on the North Dakota State University campus. George Sinner became the 29th governor of the state of North Dakota, serving two terms from 1985 to 1992. During his governorship North Dakota celebrated its centennial. After his term as governor, Sinner became the vice president of Public and Government Relations for American Crystal Sugar Company in Moorhead Minnesota. The April 2010 issue (Vol. 75, nos. 3 & 4) of North Dakota History is devoted entirely to the life and career of Governor George Sinner and Jane Sinner.

George Albert Sinner was born on May 29, 1928, in Fargo, North Dakota. He was the youngest of four children born to Albert Francis and Katherine Augusta (Wild) Sinner. He attended public school in Casselton, North Dakota, before graduating in 1946 from St. John's Prep School in Collegeville, Minnesota, with a high school diploma. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from St. John's University in Collegeville in 1950. He joined the United States Air Force, as part of the North Dakota Air National Guard, on April 1, 1951, in Fargo. His unit, the 178th Fighter Squadron, was activated for duty during the Korean War, and was stationed in Valdosta, Georgia, and Adelanto, California. He separated from the Air Force on August 21, 1952. George Sinner married Elizabeth Jane Baute of Lebanon, Kentucky, on August 10, 1951. The couple had a total of ten children: Robert, George, Elizabeth, Martha, Paula, Mary Jo, James, Gerard, Joseph, and Eric. Following the end of his military career, he returned to Casselton to work on the family farm with his father. He later formed the Sinner Brothers and Bresnahan Farming Operation with his brother, Bill, and his brother-in-law, Ellery Bresnahan. A member of the Democrat/Nonpartisan League Party, Sinner served the 10th District in the North Dakota State Senate from 1962-1966. In 1964, Sinner unsuccessfully challenged the Republican Mark Andrews for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. In 1966, Sinner was appointed to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education by Governor William Guy, and served as Board President in 1970. His seven-year term on the Board was marked by his drive to create the Tri-College University Consortium, among North Dakota State University, Moorhead State University, and Concordia College. Students at each of three institutions were allowed to take courses for credit at any of the neighboring campuses. Sinner also served as a delegate to the North Dakota Constitutional Convention in 1971-72. He won a seat in the North Dakota House of Representatives in 1982, and won the Democratic/NPL nomination for Governor in 1984. He defeated the incumbent Republican Al Olson in the fall election, and won re-election in 1988. His eight years in office were marked by a financial crisis caused in part by the worst droughts seen in the state since the 1930s. Sinner also directed reorganization in state government, especially in the Economic Development Commission. With his support, the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department held the first Prairie Rose State Games in 1987. He was also in office during North Dakota's Centennial Observance in 1989, and witnessed the call-up of the North Dakota National Guard during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. During his tenure as Governor, he was an active member of the National Governors' Association. He chaired the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, and was co-chair of the United States-Canada Task Force from 1986-1987. He also became the first North Dakota Governor to chair the 29 state Interstate Oil Compact Commission. Following his second term, Sinner served as Vice President of Public and Government Relations for the Crystal Sugar Company in Moorhead, Minnesota. Throughout his career, he remained active in his farming operation near Casselton. Sinner has been active in a number of professional, educational, and civic groups, including: the North Dakota Farm Bureau, the North Dakota Farmers' Union, the North Dakota Public Broadcasting Council, the Greater North Dakota Association, and the Casselton PTA. Sinner founded and served as the first President for the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association from 1975-1979. He was also a founder and the first chairman of the Northern Crops Institute, a four state international marketing and educational organization headquartered at North Dakota State University in Fargo.

Governor of North Dakota, vice president of Public and Government Relations for American Crystal Sugar Company in Moorhead Minnesota, farmer of Casselton, N.D.

George A. Sinner was born in Fargo in 1928, but was raised in Casselton. He attended St. John's University in Minnesota, receiving a degree in philosophy in 1950 before serving in the Air Force until 1951. In 1952 he became a partner in Sinner Brothers & Bresnahan, a small-grain, sugarbeet and cattle feeding family partnership in Casselton. Sinner was involved in both politics and farming before being elected Governor in 1985. He served in the North Dakota State Senate from 1962-1966, and serving in the North Dakota State House of Representatives in 1982. He was also a part of the North Dakota Constitutional Convention of 1972. Sinner was president of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association Board from 1975-1979, founded the North Dakota Crops Council, and served as Chairman of the Northern Crops Institute Council from 1981-1983, as well as being a member of a variety of other North Dakota agriculture organizations. He also was a member of the State Board of Education from 1966-1975. Sinner served as North Dakota's chief executive during the worst droughts in the state since the Great Depression of the 1930s, saw the state through its Centennial in 1989, and watched North Dakota National Guard troops be called up to serve in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm.