Nelson E. Nelson was North Dakota's first Norwegian immigrant. That was only the beginning of his impact on the state, Curt Eriksmoen details. Nelson also played a role in moving the capital to Bismarck and had a county named in his honor.
On this date in 1890, sparks were flying on the floor of the senate during North Dakota's first legislative session. The attorney general was called a brainless parrot, and two senators were censured for insults. Republican Senators Frederick Barlow, of Barlow, and David Dodds, of Lakota, had opposed a bill, and in doing so, they compared other senators to “unprincipled demagogues, political deadbeats and shysters of every stamp and affiliation.”