Former North Dakota Lt. Gov. Lloyd Omdahl dies at age 93

Apr. 14—GRAND FORKS — Former North Dakota Lt. Gov. Lloyd Omdahl died Sunday, April 14, at age 93.

A member of the Democratic-NPL Party, Omdahl was first appointed lieutenant governor in 1987 and then stayed in office when Gov. George Sinner was reelected the following year.

Omdahl, also a longtime newspaper columnist, was in comfort care in a Grand Forks facility when he died. His son and daughter, Scott and Becky, were at his bedside. Omdahl's wife, Ruth, died last November.

"It's a great loss for the state, with his intellect, his columns and his influence on people's lives," said Joel Medd, who announced Omdahl's death via email to members of the Franklin Club, a Grand Forks social group. Medd is the current Franklin Club president; Omdahl was a past president. "He was a great friend to so many. ..."

Omdahl was a native of northeast North Dakota, growing up in Conway, a small community about 45 miles northwest of Grand Forks. According to his biography in the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame — listed on the Norsk-Hostfest website — he graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1953 and he joined the staff of Gov. William Guy in 1961. He was appointed North Dakota tax commissioner in 1963 and, in 1966, was the governor's director of administration.

Omdahl returned to UND in 1967, joining the university's political science department and, according to his Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame biography, served as director of the UND Bureau for Governmental Affairs for most of the next 25 years. At UND, he taught classes on state and local government.

He was appointed lieutenant governor in 1987 to fill out the remaining term of Ruth Meiers, who died in March of that year. In 1988, the Sinner-Omdahl ticket was reelected, gaining 60% of the vote over the Republican ticket of Leon Mallberg and Donna Nalewaja.

Sinner and Omdahl were the last Democrats to serve in the governor's office.

After his political career ended, Omdahl kept a presence in statewide politics with his weekly newspaper column, North Dakota Matters. The column was published in newspapers across the state. His final work was published the last week of March, under the headline "Radicals torching North Dakota election laws."

"Lloyd was never one to mince words in his writing, which is a unique trait that can at times endear the writer to his readers while at times enraging others. Sometimes, it happens at the same time. That might be the best kind of columnist there is," said Grand Forks Herald Publisher Korrie Wenzel. "I always felt Lloyd had a passion for writing and also that he probably felt it was important to inform North Dakotans on the goings-on in state politics."