His father was US Senator Asle Gronna and his mother was Bertha M. Gronna.[2]
James D. Gronna served as the Secretary of State of North Dakota from 1935 to 1940.[3] He first won election to the position in 1934, and served until 1940 when he did not seek re-election. He died in Grand Forks, North Dakota at the age of 78 in 1963.