Rich Wardner (born August 26, 1942) is a former Republican member of the

North Dakota Senate The North Dakota State 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 distri ...

for the 37th district.

Biography

He graduated from

Dickinson State University Dickinson State University (DSU) is a public university in Dickinson, North Dakota, United States. 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 ...

and received a Master's of Science from Northern State University. He worked as a science and math teacher, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 in Bismarck, North Dakota. Owned by Lee Enterprises, it is the only daily newspaper for south-central and southwest North Dakota. History Founded in 1873 by Clement A. Lounsberry, the ''Bismarck ...

'', 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 ...

.Wardner Picked To Replaced [sic] Stenehjem As ND Senate Majority Leader
''Plains Daily'', September 6, 2011 Between 1999-2022, he has served in the North Dakota Senate. Following the death of state Senator Bob Stenehjem in July 2011, he served as the Senate Majority Leader. 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 The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...

, and

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

. 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.

References

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