WikiMili
List of people from Grand Forks, North Dakota
Last updated
July 26, 2025
See also:
Category:People from Grand Forks, North Dakota
This article
needs additional citations for
verification
.
Please help
improve this article
by
adding citations to reliable sources
. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources:
"List of people from Grand Forks, North Dakota"
–
news
·
newspapers
·
books
·
scholar
·
JSTOR
(
August 2010
)
(
Learn how and when to remove this message
)
The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in
Grand Forks, North Dakota
.
Contents
Arts and entertainment
Business
Law, politics, and government
Literature and journalism
Military
Science
Sports
See also
References
Arts and entertainment
Liz Anderson
(1927–2011), country singer; grew up in Grand Forks
Lynn Anderson
(1947–2015), country singer; born in Grand Forks
Maxwell Anderson
, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, author, poet, reporter, lyricist
Tom Brosseau
, singer and songwriter, folk guitarist
Tony Fontane
, gospel singer
Joel Harlow
, Academy Award-winning makeup effects artist
Kam Heskin
, actress
Hillary Kempenich
, painter and studio artist
Ezra Kire
, guitarist for
Choking Victim
and
Leftöver Crack
Nicole Linkletter
, winner of the
5th Cycle
of
America's Next Top Model
Stuart McDonald
, former editorial cartoonist,
Grand Forks Herald
Dickie Peterson
, founding member of heavy metal rock band
Blue Cheer
("
Summertime Blues
")
Alan Ritchson
, actor, singer, model
James Rosenquist
, artist
Richard St. Clair
, classical composer
Margaret Strobel
, academic
Corin Tucker
, singer songwriter in
Sleator-Kinney
Natalie West
, actress,
Roseanne
Business
Greg Brockman
, co-founder, chairman, and President of OpenAI
Thomas D. Campbell
, 1928 Time Magazine "Man of the Year," and largest U.S. farmer at the time
Ralph Engelstad
, Las Vegas casino owner, philanthropist
Andrew Freeman
, invented the
block heater
; manager of
Minnkota Power Cooperative
[
citation needed
]
Sally J. Smith
, president and CEO of
Buffalo Wild Wings
Law, politics, and government
Rick Clayburgh
,
North Dakota Tax Commissioner
Ronald Davies
, federal judge, ordered the integration of
Little Rock Central High School
Jerry Gaetz
, North Dakota state senator
Jon Godfread
,
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner
James D. Gronna
,
North Dakota Secretary of State
Gary Johnson
, state congressman for
Wisconsin
Howard A. Knutson
, Minnesota state legislator and lawyer
Walter Maddock
, 15th
governor of North Dakota
Leonard Peltier
, American Indian activist; convicted of murder in the deaths of two FBI agents
Dale V. Sandstrom
, justice on the
North Dakota Supreme Court
Arthur G. Sorlie
, 14th
governor of North Dakota
Literature and journalism
James M. Edie
, philosopher
Marilyn Hagerty
, author and writer for the
Grand Forks Herald
Rob Kuznia
, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
Al McIntosh
, newspaper editor, columns were featured in
The War
Jennie Shortridge
, novelist
Edward Kramer Thompson
, editor of
Life
Era Bell Thompson
, editor of
Ebony
[
1
]
George H. Walsh
, newspaper editor, publisher, founding role with the
University of North Dakota
Walter Wangerin, Jr.
, author of religious novels and children's books
Military
Charles W. Lindberg
, Marine, part of the first
raising the flag on Iwo Jima
Science
Mancur Olson
, economist, social scientist
Sports
Brooks Bollinger
,
American football
player
T. J. Frier
, American football player
Andrew Hampsten
, champion cyclist
Virgil Hill
, boxer, Olympic silver medalist (1984)
[
citation needed
]
Ken Hunt
, Major League Baseball outfielder
Tim Johnson
, Major League Baseball player and manager
Tyler Johnson
, basketball player with the NBL's
Brisbane Bullets
Jocelyne Lamoureux
, women's ice hockey Olympic gold medalist
Monique Lamoureux
, women's ice hockey Olympic gold medalist
Roger Maris
, right fielder with the
New York Yankees
, hit record-breaking 61 home runs in 1961
Doug McDermott
, basketball player with the NBA's
San Antonio Spurs
Lute Olson
, NCAA Champion college basketball coach of Arizona Wildcats
Tim Olson
, baseball player with the
Colorado Rockies
Ryan Potulny
, assistant coach for the
University of Minnesota men's ice hockey
Cliff Purpur
, first North Dakota native to become an
NHL
player
Andy Schneider
, defenseman with the
Adler Mannheim
Andrew Towne
, member of the team that completed the first human-powered transit of the
Drake Passage
See also
List of University of North Dakota people
References
↑
"Era Bell Thompson, 80, Dies; Novelist and Editor at Ebony"
.
New York Times
. January 3, 1987. p.
8
. Retrieved
September 3,
2020
.
v
t
e
City of
Grand Forks
Topics
Airport
Climate
Flag
History
Mayors
Media
Notable people
Parks
Public schools
Public transit
Sister cities
UND
Neighborhoods
Downtown
University Village
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article
Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0
license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.