- Browse:
- Collections
- Subjects
- Creators
- Record Groups
- UND
- CFL
- Archon
- Orin G. Libby Manuscript Co...
- George Sinner Papers
- Finding Aid
George Sinner Papers, 1967-1973, 1979
Collection Overview
Title: George Sinner Papers, 1967-1973, 1979
ID: OGLMC269
Primary Creator: Sinner, George A. (1928-)
Extent: 6.25 Linear Feet
Subjects: Politics and Government - 1972 North Dakota Constitutional Convention, Politics and Government - Democratic/Nonpartisan League (Dem/NPL), Politics and Government - North Dakota Governor
Languages: English
Abstract
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The George Sinner Papers have been divided into three series:
Series 1: North Dakota Constitutional Convention, 1971-1972
Series 2: North Dakota State Board of Higher Education
Series 3: Biographical
Collection Historical Note
George Albert Sinner was born 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, 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 August 21, 1952.
George Sinner married Elizabeth Jane Baute of Lebanon, Kentucky, on August 10, 1951. The ceremony took place in Valdosta, several days before Sinner's unit was transferred to California. They met on a blind date while Sinner was at a conference in St. Louis in September 1950. The couple had 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 in 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, 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.
Subject/Index Terms
Politics and Government - 1972 North Dakota Constitutional Convention
Politics and Government - Democratic/Nonpartisan League (Dem/NPL)
Politics and Government - North Dakota Governor
Administrative Information
Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections
Accruals: Additional material was donated by the Department of Special Collections on April 9, 1980 (80-648) and George Sinner, Casselton, North Dakota, on July 18, 1983 (83-1170).
Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.
Acquisition Method: Donation; The acquisition records are unavailable
Related Materials: Jane Sinner Papers, OGLMC 1267
Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). George Sinner Papers. OGLMC 269, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota.
Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid added to Archon in April 2014.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: North Dakota Constitutional Convention, 1971-1972],
[Series 2: North Dakota State Board of Higher Education],
[Series 3: Biographical],
[All]
- Series 1: North Dakota Constitutional Convention, 1971-1972
- The first series regards the 1971-1972 North Dakota Constitutional Convention and includes notes, journals, committee meeting minutes, article proposal files, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and resource materials published by the University of North Dakota Bureau of Government Affairs.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Amendments proposed by and to the Legislative Function Committee
- Folder 2: Proposed amendments to the new constitution (loose)
- Folder 3: Proposed amendments to the new constitution (bound)
- Folder 4: Minutes of various committee meetings
- Folder 5: Memorandums (legislative-codes of ethics and function)
- Folder 6: Final reports of various committees
- Folder 7: Five copies of the Constitution for North Dakota as recommended by the convention
- Folder 8: Proposals by the Style and Draft, Redraft Committee
- Folder 9: Five status reports: Unicameral and Bicameral Alternatives; Action Taken with Respect to Rights Reserved in the People; Two North Dakota Constitutional Convention Status Reports
- Folder 10: Reports of the Procedural Committee
- Folder 11: News releases and newsletters to the delegates
- Folder 12: Constitutional Convention calendars
- Folder 13: Constitutional Convention Interim Report
- Box 2
- Folder 1: State of North Dakota Subject Index Report (pages 0004-0068)
- Folder 2: Senate Bill Actions Report (pages 1-178)
- Folder 3: House Bill Actions Report (pages 1-95)
- Folder 4: House Bill Actions Report (pages 96-187)
- Folder 5: Correspondence re: Constitutional Convention
- Folder 6: Organizational Session Journal and Plenary Session Journal
- Folder 7: Publication of the Bureau of Government Affairs, UND-Major Attempts at Constitutional Revision, 1960-70; Resource Publication "A" For the North Dakota Constitutional Convent ion
- Folder 8: Publication of the Bureau of Government Affairs, UND-Resource Publication "B" For The North Dakota Constitutional Convention; Resource Publication "C", Convention Profile and Individual Biographies
- Folder 9: Publication of the Bureau of Government Affairs, UND-Resource Publication "F" and "K" For the North Dakota Constitutional Convention
- Folder 10: Miscellaneous (notes, news articles, pamphlets, etc.)
- Series 2: North Dakota State Board of Higher Education
- The second series consists of Sinner's files as a member of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education. Arranged first are general correspondence files from 1967 to 1973. Next are subject files, including reports from various state institutions of higher education, published articles, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous materials. The subject files are arranged alphabetically by folder title.
- Box 3
- Folder 1: General Correspondence, 1967
- Folder 2: General Correspondence, 1968
- Folder 3: General Correspondence, 1969
- Folder 4: General Correspondence, 1970
- Folder 5: General Correspondence, 1971
- Folder 6: General Correspondence, 1972-1973
- Folder 7: Admissions Policy
- Folder 8: Architecture
- Folder 9: Calendar (Quarter vs Semester System)
- Folder 10: Constitutions
- Folder 11: Curriculum Committee Graduate Program
- Folder 12: Engineering
- Folder 13: Extension Service - NDSU
- Folder 14: Facilities Commission
- Folder 15: Faculty Rights
- Folder 16: Fair Dismissal
- Folder 17: Fees and Scholarships
- Folder 18: Finance
- Folder 19: Fringe Benefits
- Folder 20: Graduate Committees
- Box 4
- Folder 1: Junior Colleges
- Folder 2: Labor
- Folder 3: Legislation
- Folder 4: Master Plan
- Folder 5: Minot Lab School
- Folder 6: Minot Police Officers Training
- Folder 7: New School
- Folder 8: NDSU Buildings
- Folder 9: NDSU Courses
- Folder 10: Wheat Research
- Folder 11: Physics
- Folder 12: Policy
- Folder 13: Population Balance Institute, NDSU
- Folder 14: Presidential Candidates
- Folder 15: Public Television
- Folder 16: Regulations on Academic Freedom, Tenure and Due Process
- Folder 17: Regulations on Academic Freedom, Tenure and Due Process
- Folder 18: ROTC
- Folder 19: Retirement Policy
- Folder 20: Salaries and Budget
- Folder 21: Salaries by Degree
- Folder 22: Salaries by Rank
- Folder 23: Speech Therapy
- Folder 24: Student Publications
- Box 5
- Series 3: Biographical
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: North Dakota Constitutional Convention, 1971-1972],
[Series 2: North Dakota State Board of Higher Education],
[Series 3: Biographical],
[All]