Sensational Sundays: Celebrating 100 Years of North Dakota Women in Municipal Government

Just over one hundred years ago, North Dakota women were given the chance to vote and serve on municipal and county commissions. “Celebrating 100 Years of North Dakota Women in Municipal Government” is a special event marking the centennial of woman suffrage and Women’s History Month. The program will feature a lively discussion by panel members Bismarck City Commissioner Nancy Guy, Burleigh County Commissioner Kathleen Jones, Mandan School Board Member Marnie Piehl, and attorney Greg Stites. It will be moderated by historian Dr. Barbara Handy-Marchello. Although Kate Selby Wilder was elected to the Fargo City Commission in April 1919 (and appointed Police Commissioner), and in 1922 the Village of Des Lacs elected a complete slate of women officials, few women today are serving on local governing boards. On the city commissions of Bismarck and Mandan, the county commissions of Burleigh and Morton, and the Bismarck School Board, women hold only one of five positions on each board. On the Mandan School Board, women hold four of nine positions. Part of the panel discussion will focus on “What actions can we take to encourage more women to serve on our municipal boards?” The program is sponsored by the North Dakota Woman Suffrage Centennial Committee (NDWSCC), in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The NDWSCC, chaired by Susan Wefald and Barbara Handy-Marchello, was formed in January 2019 to plan and coordinate woman suffrage centennial events throughout the state and encourage further research on woman suffrage in North Dakota. The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting most women the right to vote, was ratified In August 1920. Sensational Sundays are free programs that include a variety of lectures, concerts, movies, and tours that provide engaging, educational, historic, and cultural information.