Rich Wardner (born August 26, 1942) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of 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 ...

for the 37th district.

Biography

He graduated from

Dickinson State University Dickinson State University (DSU) is a public university in Dickinson, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. It was founded in 1918 as Dickinson State Normal School and granted full university status in 1987. History Di ...

and received a Master's of Science from

Northern State University Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional programs, 23 certifi ...

. He worked as a science and math teacher, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and basketball coach, and a farmer.Kate Bommarito
Senate Majority Leader Wardner Urges Caucus to Keep Working & Look Ahead
''Plains Daily'', September 6, 2011Rebecca Beitsch

''

The Bismarck Tribune ''The Bismarck Tribune'' is a daily newspaper with a weekly audience of 82,000 unique readers, printed daily in Bismarck, North Dakota. Owned by Lee Enterprises, it is the only daily newspaper for south-central and southwest North Dakota. Histo ...

'', September 7, 2011 From 1991 to 1997, he served in the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as d ...

.Wardner Picked To Replaced [sic] Stenehjem As ND Senate Majority Leader
''Plains Daily'', September 6, 2011 Since 1999, he has served in the North Dakota Senate. Following the death of state Senator

Bob Stenehjem Robert "Bob" Stenehjem ( ; January 12, 1952 – July 18, 2011) was a North Dakota Republican politician, serving in the North Dakota Senate for District 30. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2001 until his death in 2011. Stenehjem ran for th ...

in July 2011, he has served as the Senate

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

. He is the former executive director of the Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce. He now serves as chairman of Sunrise Youth Bureau and the Midwest Legislative Conference. He is a member of Legislative Management, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

. In 1999, he received the Public Service Award from the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association. He is married to Kayleen Wardner, and they have two children. They live in

Dickinson, North Dakota Dickinson is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 25,679 at the 2020 census. Dickinson is home to the Ukrainian Cultural Institute, which has a museum and holds events year round for the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardner, Rich 1942 births 21st-century American politicians Dickinson State University alumni Living people Republican Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives Northern State University alumni People from Dickinson, North Dakota Presidents pro tempore of the North Dakota Senate Republican Party North Dakota state senators