BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Doug Burgum today issued the following statement regarding former state Sen. Lonnie Laffen of Grand Forks, who passed away Wednesday at age 62. 

Laffen represented District 43 in the Senate from 2011 to 2018 and was co-founder and president of JLG Architects, a multi-state architecture firm headquartered in Grand Forks and recently selected to be the architect of record for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Medora. Laffen also had served on the Capitol Grounds Planning Commission chaired by Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford.

“Lonnie left an indelible mark on North Dakota, from the 32 years he spent pouring his heart into building an award-winning architecture firm to his eight years of committed service in the Legislature, to his service in numerous community organizations,” Burgum said. “Lonnie understood how great design can lift a community and its people, from a beautiful school to a stunning sports arena. His legacy as a gifted architect endures in the dozens of iconic buildings JLG designed across our state and region and in the dedicated team members who carried out his vision – as he said, ‘fantastic projects and great people,’ and because of his magnetism, Lonnie enjoyed a lifetime of working with both. Our hearts and prayers go out to his beloved wife, Pam, their three children, family, friends, legislative colleagues, the NDSU architecture community and the entire JLG team.”