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Agnes Kjorlie was born near Hatton, N.D., on May 19, 1896, the daughter of Norwegian immigrant homesteaders. In 1918, she worked for women's suffrage with the League of Women Voters. Geelan began her political career as an officer in the ladies auxiliary of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen in 1931. In 1935, she was elected president of North Dakota's American Legion auxiliary. She was the first female mayor in the state when she was elected mayor of Enderlin in 1946. She served as mayor for 8 years until 1954. In 1950, she became the first woman elected to the North Dakota Senate representing Ransom County. Geelan ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1948 and 1956, when she was the first North Dakota woman to be endorsed by a major party. She was invited to the U.N.'s session on disarmament in June 1988. At age 92, she was named a Newsweek American hero citing her peace activism.