(The Center Square) – A North Dakota state senator killed in a plane crash with his wife and two children was a “tenacious advocate for individual rights and the freedoms he defended through his military service,” Gov. Doug Burgum said Monday.
Sen. Doug Larsen, R-Mandan, died in a plane crash in Utah on Sunday.
“Larsen was a father, husband, coach, entrepreneur, businessman, state senator and lieutenant colonel in the North Dakota National Guard who committed himself fully to each of those roles with an unwavering sense of honor and duty,” said Burgum, commander-in-chief of the North Dakota National Guard. “We extend our deepest sympathies and prayers to his family and friends and join his legislative colleagues, National Guard brothers and sisters and the Mandan community in mourning the tragic passing of Sen. Larsen and his family.”
Larsen was first elected to the Senate in 2021 and was chairman of the Business and Industry Committee during the 2023 session.
He first joined the North Dakota National Guard in 1994 and rose through the ranks to become an aviation officer in 2006, according to a news release from Burgum. He was deployed to Iraq in 2009 and served in Washington as part of Operation Noble Eagle from 2013 to 2014.
“I cannot think of a more tragic loss for one family, and the North Dakota National Guard sends our condolences to all of their friends and family,” said Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard. “Doug was a true patriot who dedicated his life, both in and out of uniform, to serving others. I had the distinct pleasure to call him a Brother in Arms.”
