Late North Dakota Legislative Council director remembered for nonpartisan approach
North Dakota lawmakers and employees of the Legislative Council are remembering former Director John Olsrud for his nonpartisan, ethical approach in decades of serving the Legislature.
Olsrud, 77, a Beach native and longtime Bismarck resident, died Wednesday morning at Sanford Health in Bismarck from complications following heart surgery.
He was the Legislature’s top attorney for 25 years, retiring in 2007 after 40 years with the Legislature’s fiscal and legal service agency, where he started as a staff researcher after graduation from the University of North Dakota and its School of Law. Olsrud also was a Vietnam War-era U.S. Army Reserve medic in Colorado, caring for injured servicepeople.
