Background
Satrom was born on his family"s farm in Broadlawn Township in Steele County, North Dakota.
Satrom was born on his family"s farm in Broadlawn Township in Steele County, North Dakota.
He attended North Dakota State University and was editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, The Spectrum, for two years. In 1968 Satrom graduated from NDSU with a Bachelor of Surgery in Agricultural Education.
He sat as a delegate to the state Democratic convention that year. Late that year he inquired with Governor Guy about possible positions for him in the administration, and was offered a job as Travel Director. In 1971 they opened Viking Travel, a travel agency in Bismarck.
In 1978 Joe and Katherine opened Satrom Travel and Tour as a completely independent travel company, and expanded to eight locations in North Dakota and Montana.
All but two were eventually sold. He served until 1992.
He is a shareholder and sits on the board of Borgen Systems, a refrigerated display case firm based in Des Moines, Iowa.
Satrom is a member of Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy.