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BISMARCK — Call it bipartisanship: As Rep. Todd Porter, R-Mandan, walked into the Capitol one day earlier this month, he spotted Sen. Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, lying on the floor.
She had just fallen while leaving for the day.
Porter, a longtime paramedic, provided immediate assistance to Hogan, who was later found to have suffered a cracked kneecap and a mild concussion.
“Having Todd be my first responder was a gift,” Hogan said. “His calm and firm presence was totally reassuring.”
Beth Helfrich, executive director for the North Dakota broadcasters and newspaper associations, witnessed the quick assist. “It was truly like a divine intervention that Todd Porter, a paramedic, was right there,” she said.
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In addition to his 24 years in the Legislature, Porter has worked as a paramedic in the Bismarck-Mandan area for 45 years. He said he has dealt with numerous calls from “falls with lacerations to major traumatic events.”
Porter carries a pager for the Capitol Response Team and responds when he can to assist state Highway Patrol officers and Capitol Security.
“That is the profession I fell in love with while still in high school, and still to this day it makes my pulse rise a bit,” he said. “But the ultimate satisfaction is helping someone in need.”
Isabelle Ballalatak is a reporting intern with the North Dakota Newspaper Association.
