1986-1992
The new president of the Bank of North Dakota was another small-town banker, Joe Lamb, who owned the bank in Michigan City, ND, the second smallest bank in the state. He had served on the State Banking Board. He was a Democrat, a personal friend of Governor Sinner, and a contributor to his campaign.
His family owned nearly every business in Michigan City which included a gas station, a café, a lumberyard, a general store, a furniture and appliance store and finally, a car dealership.
Joe Lamb was educated as a teacher and he worked in schools in Forest River and Cavalier. He then worked for the state highway department before going to work for the family bank in Michigan City.
Governor Sinner later said, “I had to have someone that I completely trusted as president of the Bank of North Dakota, so I asked Joe to take that position. He worked to straighten out the bank by identifying some of the inaccuracies and the truth of where we were with loans that were bad.”
Lamb had been a credit hawk all his life. He was able to clean up the Bank’s sometimes-loose loan portfolio and improve the Bank’s credit rating. Lamb also purged the ranks of the Bank’s staff, the largest change of personnel since the Langer years.
He was an avid fisherman who traveled internationally for his hobby. He was known for his fish fries held in the backyard.
