Stenehjem funeral set for Monday

BISMARCK – The funeral for Senate Majority Leader Bob Stenehjem will take place Monday afternoon at Bismarck State College.

Visitation is set for 3 to 5 p.m. CT Sunday in the Senate chamber at the North Dakota Capitol. The funeral is at 1 p.m. CT Monday on the fourth floor of Bismarck State College's National Energy Center of Excellence. The public is invited to attend.

A reception will follow the funeral, and he will be buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Bismarck.

Stenehjem, 59, was killed Monday near Soldotna, Alaska, when the vehicle he was driving went off the road and rolled. He was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the hospital. His son, Rob, 34, and Keith Johnson, 34, of Hinckley, Minn., were also ejected and were hospitalized for their injuries.

His 11-year-old grandson, Daniel, was treated and released Monday. Stenehjem was on a family fishing trip when the accident occurred.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said his brother’s body is expected to return to Bismarck on Thursday. An autopsy was performed today, but the results are not yet in, he said.

“These things never go as quickly as we like to have them,” he said.

Wayne Stenehjem said Rob will be able to fly to North Dakota to attend the funeral. Johnson was upgraded to serious condition on Wednesday at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Wayne Stenehjem said his nephew was asleep at the time of the accident and the other passengers may have been as well. It’s unknown if his brother had heart problems, swerved to miss an animal or what caused the vehicle to leave the road, he said.

Wayne Stenehjem, who had an Industrial Commission meeting on Wednesday, said it was difficult to accept that his brother was gone. He said he thought of issues during the meeting that he wanted to discuss with his brother.

Details of the funeral have not yet been finalized, but he expected he and his brother, Allan, would be among the speakers. It was important to the family that Bob Stenehjem returns to the Senate one last time for the visitation.

The funeral at BSC also is personal. Bob Stenehjem’s church, Church of the Cross, is not expected to be large enough for the crowd. The family chose the fourth floor of BSC because Bob Stenehjem worked on getting funding for the building, Wayne Stenehjem said.

There is also a panoramic view of the Missouri River, “from which you can almost see Bob’s fishing spot,” Wayne Stenehjem said. “It’s just beautiful.”

Bob Stenehjem, a Republican, was elected to the state Senate in 1992 and became majority leader in 2001. He worked as the city of Bismarck’s road and streets foreman.

Funeral director Mike Nathe, a fellow Bismarck legislator, is planning the funeral.

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