Ernest M. Sands (April 30, 1922 – April 9, 2012) was a

North Dakota Republican Party The North Dakota Republican Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the United States Republican Party. Its platform is conservative. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling North Dakota's at-large U.S. House seat, both U.S. S ...

politician who served as the 32nd

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

from 1981 to 1985. Sands also served in the

North Dakota Senate The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives. Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts appor ...

from 1967 to 1970 and from 1973 to 1980.

Background

Ernest Sands was born in

Pincher Creek Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary. History For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indigen ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and his parents were

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

s which made him a United States citizen. In 1930, Sands and his family moved to

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

. He graduated from

Minot High School Minot High School (MHS) is the public high school in Minot, North Dakota, divided between two main campuses: Magic City (grades 11-12) and Central (grades 9-10). MHS also includes an alternative campus: Souris River Campus. Athletics The boys' ...

and then went to Minot State Teachers College (now

Minot State University Minot State University (MSU or MiSU) is a public university in Minot, North Dakota. Founded in 1913 as a normal school, Minot State University is the third-largest university in North Dakota, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. ...

). Sands served in the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a Bombardier for the 458th Bomb Group, 755th Squadron (B-24). On October 14, 1944, his plane was shot down over

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and he was able to evade capture for several days. He was eventually captured and spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft III and Stalag VIIA until he was repatriated by Patton's forces on April 29, 1945. In 1946, Sands received his degree in business administration from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

. Sands and his wife moved to

Velva, North Dakota Velva is a city in McHenry County, North Dakota, United States. Part of the Minot Micropolitan Statistical Area, it was founded in 1897 and the population was 1,086 at the 2020 census. Southeast of Minot, Velva is at the southernmost point of th ...

where he owned a funeral home, furniture and hardware businesses. In 1960, he served on the Velva City Council and in 1962 was the mayor of Velva, North Dakota. In 1967, he served in the North Dakota Senate and then Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota 1981–1985. He died in Minot, North Dakota.'Ernest Sands,' Bismarck Tribune (North Dakota), April 13, 2012

Notes

External links

In Memory of Ernest M. Sands
1922 births 2012 deaths People from the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9 People from McHenry County, North Dakota People from Minot, North Dakota Military personnel from North Dakota Minot State University alumni University of North Dakota alumni Businesspeople from North Dakota North Dakota city council members Mayors of places in North Dakota American prisoners of war in World War II Lieutenant Governors of North Dakota Republican Party North Dakota state senators Shot-down aviators United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople American expatriates in Canada Minot High School alumni {{NorthDakota-politician-stub