Covenanter Is Doctor, Pilot and New State Senator

He's a doctor by profession and an airline business owner. Two weeks ago he added another title: Alaska state senator.

Dr. Donald C. "Donny" Olson of Nome fared much better than the presidential contenders – he ran unopposed as the Democratic candidate. He received more than 97 percent of the vote, due in no small measure to his campaigning in the primary election that give new meaning to the term "door-to-door" politics.

A member at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Nome, Olson is owner and pilot for Polar Express, Inc., and Olson Air. He used his skills as a pilot to visit all of the districts in the North Slope-Lower Yukon District, the state's largest senate district.

As a result, he garnered 43 percent of the primary vote, defeating two other candidates. Olson personally spent $30,000 in the primary. He replaces retiring Sen. Al Adams, who held the seat for 20 years.

It was Olson's father, Martin, who started Olson Air in the small town of Golovin and interested his son in flying at a young age. Olson's mother, Maggie, has put her own business experience to good use, recently winning a small business award at the annual Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. She's chair of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Golovin.

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