2021

MICHELLE THISSEN is a government auditor for Conway, Deuth & Schmiesing in Willmar, where she lives.

2020

EMILY BOMBICH is the director of planning for the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency which offers services including energy assistance, senior services, transportation, food access and more to communities throughout 10 counties in northeastern Minnesota. She lives in Duluth.

EMMA HUDZIAK is a news reporter for Lakeland PBS in Bemidji. Hudziak interned with the station as a marketing communications student in 2019, gaining experience as a reporter, news editor and technical director. She lives in Walker.

KAITLYN KERR teaches fourth grade math at Chatfield Elementary School in Belle Paine. Kerr lives in St. Charles

2019

EMILY PATNODE is an early childhood teacher at Eagle View Elementary in Pequot Lakes, where she was also a student teacher. Before joining Eagle View, Patnode spent one year teaching preschool and early childhood family education at Browerville Public Schools. She lives in Baxter.

KATIE KORDIAK is a MNsure Navigator based in Walker. In this role she answers questions from and assists in enrolling participants in Minnesota’s public health insurance marketplace. Kordiak lives in Laporte.

2018

MARIA SHERMOEN is a counselor for the Human Development Center in Two Harbors. The company provides mental health services to residents in Carlton, Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties. She lives in Duluth.

2017

CULLEN HORIEN works for Delta Dental of Minnesota as a client advocate. He lives in Bemidji.

THOMAS JOHNSON oversees student housing as an area director for the Office of Residential Life & Housing at Carleton College in Northfield. He lives in Northfield.

2016

KRYSTAL BRODEEN was hired as head women’s basketball coach at Central Lakes College in Brainerd. She previously coached basketball and volleyball at Vermillion Community College in Ely. She lives in Brainerd.

JOEY HANOWSKI was hired as head coach For the Little Falls varsity boy’s hockey program. A Little Falls High School graduate, Hanowski
was a four-year men’s hockey letterwinner. He also works as a project manager for Hole Products in Little Falls. He and his wife, ERICA (TRAFAS) ’16, who teaches first grade at Nisswa Elementary, live in Brainerd.

KELLY METZ joined the family medicine team at Lakewood Health System as a family medicine provider serving clinics in Pillager and Staples. After graduating with a bachelor of science in nursing in 2016, Metz went on to earn a doctorate in nursing practice from Metropolitan State University. She lives in Pillager.

LISA SYVERSON was hired as the director of public health for Clearwater County Nursing Service. She previously spent five years as a registered nurse at Essential Health in Fosston. She lives in Shevlin.

2015

ANNE JO (CHRISTIANS) VOORHEES joined the Yellow Medicine East School District as a preschool teacher. She lives in Granite Falls.

2012

SAMANTHA (BALDWIN) SPICER is an insurance agent for Nodak Insurance Company in Grand Forks. She played on the BSU women’s basketball team from 2008– 2012. Spicer lives in Cavalier, North Dakota.

2011

ABBY BLOOMQUIST teaches language arts at the Faribault Area Learning Center. A Faribault native, she taught six years at Blue Earth Area High School before returning to Faribault Public Schools in 2017. Bloomquist also previously coached softball and volleyball for the district. She lives in Faribault.

JENNIFER SCHULTZ released a sequel to her paranormal suspense thriller “Hearts of Prey,” called “House of Stars,” in September 2021. A book signing was held at 523 Trading Post in Olivia in October 2021. Schultz lives in Crookston.

JOHN STEWART is a multimedia designer, videographer and photographer at Pinnacle Marketing Group in Bemidji. He lives in Bemidji with his wife, KATRINA ’13, who is a music teacher at Clearbrook-Gonvick High School.

2010

ERIC ALGER is a lieutenant with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. Alger has served as a deputy, sergeant and patrol lieutenant over his 10-year career with the department. He lives in Walker.

BEN ECKSTEIN raised more than $2,000 through a GoFundMe campaign in support of Lakeport Township’s Fire Department and emergency medical responders as part of the organizations’ annual 5k fundraising race in July 2021. Eckstein and three other Lakeport firefighters ran the race in full firefighting gear. Eckstein lives in Laporte with his wife and two children.

AUTUMN (WILLE) RICHARDSON is a senior manager of platform operations and modernization at Digi-Key Electronics in Thief River Falls. Richardson began her career at the electronic component distributor as a software engineering intern in 2009. She lives in Thief River Falls with her husband and son.

JAMES PREINER has been a realtor with Coldwell Banker Clack & Dennis Real Estate in Park Rapids since 2012. He lives in Park Rapids with his wife, HYACINTH MOSS ’08, who is a social worker for Lake County Associates in Menahga and Park Rapids. They have two children.

2009

TAYLOR GRAGE was hired as a research and development chemist for Sheboygan Paint Co. and oversees the company’s industrial coating products. He lives in Sheboygan.

2007

CHASE PEARSON became superintendent of Kraus-Anderson Bemidji. Pearson previously worked as project superintendent of McShane Construction in Rosemount, Illinois, and as operations manager at Mountain Crane Service in Salt Lake City, Utah. He lives in Bemidji.

CHRIS HOFFMAN was named Educator of the Year by the Minnesota
Council on Economic Education. The award recognizes outstanding
achievements and innovations by teachers in economics and personal finance education. Hoffman has taught a combined fourth- and fifth-grade economics course at Schoolcraft Learning Community, a charter school in Bemidji, since 2017. He lives in Bemidji with his wife, STEPHANIE (DETSCHMAN) ’09, who is a math teacher at Schoolcraft. They have two children.

2006

ANDREW CASHIN was named North Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper of the Year by the North Dakota Motor Carriers Association. A trooper since 2010, Cashin serves northeast region of North Dakota and is stationed in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he lives.

CANDACE (ROSTEN) GODFREY works as alumni coordinator for the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative. She previously worked as a registrar clerk for St. Olaf College. Godfrey lives in Dundas with her husband, SCOTT ‘06, who works at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as a data coordinator.

RYAN HUDDY was named head coach of the Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose High School girl’s hockey team in May 2021. Huddy
was a forward for the Beaver men’s hockey team from 2002–2006 before skating professionally for six years. He began his coaching career in 2012 as lead coach at Total Hockey Minnesota in Lakeville. He lives in Buffalo.

PATRICK WEERTS was promoted to senior project manager for Bemidji’s Kraus-Anderson office. Weerts joined the construction company in 2012 and oversaw renovation projects at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center and the construction of Paul Bunyan Communications’ customer service and technology center in Grand Rapids. He lives in Solway.

2003

JASON RYLANDER is a fishing guide for North Country Guide Service in Bemidji. When not guiding anglers in the Bemidji area, he works as regional sales manager for InHarvest Foodservice, a whole grains distributor. He lives in Bemidji.

Sauer Receives Prestigious Minnesota Golf Association Award

A member of the BSU golf team from 1966-70, Ray Sauer ‘70 is a six-time club champion at his home course in St. Cloud. He won Bemidji’s prestigious Birchmont Classic in 1971 and placed second in the Minnesota Golf Association’s Senior Amateur Championship in 2004 – the same year he was inducted into the BSU Athletics Hall of Fame – among many other local and statewide tournament victories.

While Sauer has amassed many accolades for his performance on the course, what he is most known for is focusing his passion for golf to raise support and awareness for causes he cares about while growing the sport throughout Minnesota.

Sauer’s dedication to the sport was recognized November 1, 2021, when he was awarded the Warren J. Rebholz Distinguished Service Award at the Minnesota Golf Association’s annual meeting in Hopkins at the Oak Ridge Country Club. According to the association, recipients of the award “exemplify the spirit of the game at its highest level and … have made a substantial contribution to the game in Minnesota or on a national or international level.”

Following the death of his twin brother, Ed ‘69, Sauer established the Ed Sauer Memorial Golf Tournament in 2008 to support scholarships for BSU men’s golf through an endowment in his late brother’s name. The tournament is held each August at Tianna Country Club in Walker and has raised more than $110,000 for the program.

In 1969, Sauer was instrumental in creating and growing the Northern Minnesota Indian Classic in Walker from a small fundraising tournament benefiting the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to an event that today draws Indigenous golfers from across the U.S. and Canada. He is also a driving force behind several other tournaments in the Walker area each summer.

Sauer lives in St. Cloud with his wife, Kathy.

2002

AMBER (BROMENSHENKE) CZIOK was installed as president of the Minnesota Dental Association for the 2021–2022 term. Cziok serves on the Minnesota Dental Foundation Board of Directors and the Minnesota Dental Association Board of Trustees. She practices dentistry at Sibley Dental Suite in Litchfield, where she lives with her husband, DAVE ’01, who is the administrator for the city.

TODD KNOTT is associate head coach for the Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks men’s hockey team. Knott joined the program as an assistant coach in
2009. He played hockey for the Beavers from 1999–2002. He lives in Eagle Lake with his wife and three children.

2001

PAUL KIRBY is the assistant girl’s hockey coach for Pine City High School. He teaches fourth grade at C.E. Jacobson Elementary in Rush City. Kirby lives in Pine City.

ANGIE SEVERSON owns and operates Miss Angie’s Place in Pine Island, a childcare business that provides children hands-on, interactive experiences like hiking, fishing and music therapy alongside nutrition and wellness activities. She previously taught art classes at Lourdes High School in Rochester. She lives in Pine Island.

2000

Marc Lafleur is the head coach of the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario
Junior Hockey League. Lafleur was named the league’s coach of the year in 2013 and 2019 while coaching for the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners and Hearst Lumberjacks, respectively. He lives in Powassan, Ontario.

1997

CINDY HILLEGASS is a senior production technical drafter for Central Roofing Company, a Minneapolis- based commercial roofing contractor. Hillegass has worked in commercial construction, specifically in drafting roles, for more than 20 years. She lives in Plymouth.

JENNY LOECK was inducted into the Green Wave Hall of Fame by East Grand Forks Senior High in recognition of her athletic career, which Included 11 varsity letters
and six all-conference awards. She also was a five-time team captain in varsity volleyball, basketball and track & field. Loeck is the superintendent for Roseville Area Schools and lives in the community with her wife and three children.

Johanneson’s legacy as outstanding midwest grocer continues

Keith Johanneson and his company, Bemidji-based Johanneson, Inc., were honored with the Wisconsin Grocers Association’s Excellence in Operations Award at the KJ’s Fresh Market location in Chetek, Wisconsin, on August 5, 2021. The award recognizes grocers who excel in day-to-day operations of their stores and in support they provide their employees and service to their local communities.

In 2019 the company acquired existing Gordy’s Market stores in Barron, Cornell, Chetek and Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Renamed KJ’s Fresh Market, the supermarkets serve local residents with a full selection of meat, fresh produce and other groceries.

Johanneson is no stranger to the grocery business. His parents first opened a small meat market in Edinburg, N.D., in 1940. They soon opened grocery stores in Fargo, N.D., and eventually in Bemidji —which included Super John’s Supermarket located across from Bemidji State University in 1962. Johanneson worked in the family store from a young age, and, after studying business at Bemidji State University from 1965-1969, and later at the University of Minnesota and Oxford University, he became CEO and president of Johanneson’s Inc. in the early 1970s.

More than 80 years after starting with that first small-town meat market, Johanneson’s Inc. now includes 25 supermarkets — including Bemidji’s Marketplace Foods — liquor and convenience stores and other entities with more than 1,800 employees in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. A recent decision to put ownership of the company into an Employee Stock Ownership Plan has given these employees stake in the company’s success.

Johanneson was awarded with the Thomas K. Zaucha Entrepreneurial Excellence Award by the National Grocers Association in 2011, regarded as one of the most prestigious honors awarded to independent grocers.

Johanneson lives in Bemidji with his wife, Maria.

1996

JASON CARLSON became the administrator of Maple Manor Care Center in Langdon, North Dakota, in July 2021. Carlson has more than 35 years of experience in health Elementary School Principals’ Association in care, including the last 17 as administrator of May. Nominated for creating schedules and health care facilities in both Minnesota and procedures around the school’s COVID-19 North Dakota. He lives in East Grand Forks. 

LAINE (BLUMER) LARSON, superintendent of Brainerd Public Schools, was awarded
the 2021 Kay E. Jacobs 1991 Award by the Minnesota Association of School Administrators at the association’s spring conference in March the director of public 2021. The annual award recognizes leadership, concern for students and active involvement in professional and community affairs by a female administrator. Larson lives in Brainerd.

1995

NIKKI (CARLSON) STARK was named Teacher of the Year by Pequot Lakes High School in May 2021. Stark has taught high school math in Pequot Lakes for nearly 27 years. She lives in Nisswa.

1994

LYNETTE (GUNNING) HOW was appointed to the State of Minnesota Board of Nursing by Governor Tim Walz. How is a nursing faculty member and program director at Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids. Before beginning her teaching career, she worked as a registered nurse in acute care and administrative roles. She lives in Cohasset.

1992

AMI AALGAARD was recognized for her leadership as principal of Bemidji’s Gene Dillon Elementary School by the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association in May. Nominated for creating schedules and procedures around the school’s COVID-19 response, Aalgaard received the association’s Division Leadership Achievement Award for the northern region of Minnesota. She lives in Bemidji.

1991

BRIAN WEIERKE is the director of public safety and police chief for the city of Fridley. He started with the department in 1995 as a patrol officer before being promoted to captain in 2004 and head of the Fridley Police Department in 2015. Weierke lives in New Brighton.

MEL MILLERBERND retired as head coach for the Rainy River Community College volleyball team in October. She currently works as the school’s athletic director and as an instructor of physical education and health; she plans to retire from those roles in May. She lives in Littlefork.

1989

CAROL (HINDERS) RICKE is an elementary special education teacher for the Badger School District. She lives in Badger with her husband, KEVIN ’89, who is the current superintendent-principal for Badger School District.

1987

JOHN SCHAFF was appointed vice president of exploration for Avidian Gold Corporation and is responsible for discovering gold deposits in the company’s Alaska and Nevada properties. Schaff has over 33 years of experience in the mining industry. He lives in Reno, Nevada.

DIANE (KLEINKE) LARSON is the executive director of Itasca County Housing & Redevelopment Authority based in Grand Rapids. Larson oversees low-income housing and rental assistance programs for the county. She lives in Grand Rapids with her husband, TIM ’85, who is an industrial technology teacher at Grand Rapids High School.

1986

DEBBIE (DAHL) AUNE exhibited two landscape watercolor paintings in the Sorenson Gallery at the Fosston Library & Arts Center last spring. The paintings depicted grain elevators in AUNE northwest Minnesota and a naturescape of hills, rivers and buttes found in the Dakotas and Wyoming. Aune teaches K-12 art education for Greenbush Middle River School District. She lives in Gatzke with her husband, ELROY ’75, who farms in the area.

1985

JANE (ENGELMANN) ROTH retired from Lester Prairie Elementary School after 36 years with the district. She plans to return to her hobbies including playing piano, painting and sewing in retirement. She lives in Lester Prairie.

JEFF WASHBURN retired after a 42-year career in mining and foundry industries throughout Russia, Europe, South America, Africa and North America. He has also been a consultant for NASA for 20 years. He and his wife live in Shoreview.

MARILYN (GUNDERSON) HOOD retired in May following a 36-year career teaching English at Bagley High School. Hood was active in the school’s drama program, directing many plays over the course of her career. She lives in Bagley with her husband.

1983

SCOTT JORGENSON is the pastor at Thomastown Covenant Church in Staples. Jorgenson previously worked as a chaplain at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for 14 years and served two different congregations in Wisconsin. He lives in Staples with his wife, Lisa (Evans) ’82, who is a paraprofessional for Pillager Schools.

1980

ELLEN ADAMS received a lifetime achievement award from Bena’s Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School in recognition of her retirement after 40 years with the school in January 2021. Adams taught Kindergarten, language and culture classes for much of her career. She lives in Cass Lake.

1979

PAUL CHRISTGAU retired after a 42-year career in software design, development and testing for the avionics and medical device industries. He lives in Plymouth.

1978

NANCY CREVIER retired as editor of The Newtown Bee in Newtown, Connecticut. Crevier started at the newspaper in 2005 as a features reporter before being named the 144-year-old publication’s first female editor in 2016. She lives in Newtown.

1977

DAN BOEKE was sworn in as councilor at-large for the city of Owatonna in July 2021. Previously, Boeke owned and operated Harland’s Tire and Auto in Owatonna for 25 years. He lives in Owatonna with his wife, Laurie.

1976

JIM BRUFLODT retired as the chairperson of Detroit Lake’s annual Pine to Palm golf tournament in August after coordinating the tournament for eight years. The Pine to Palm tournament is one of Minnesota’s largest and most competitive events, drawing golfers from 35 states. Bruflodt lives in Detroit Lakes, with his wife, Cynthia (Blanchard) ’75, who is a retired business associate at Wells Fargo in Detroit Lakes.

1974

PAT (ALLEN) FIDELDY was recognized in October by the Minnesota Association of
Library Friends for her long-time support and volunteerism with the Grand Rapids Area Library. She lives in Grand Rapids with her husband.

1959

BOB KING was inducted into the Pelican Rapids School District’s Hall of Fame in September 2021 for his 32 years with the district as an industrial arts teacher as well as wrestling and football coach. He lives in Pelican Rapids.