Class Notes
1953
Dale Henning wrote a 206-page report, Correctionville and the Oneota Tradition: The Western Oneota and the Correctionville Phase, that was published by the Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa.
1964
Dave Senjem of Rochester, Minn., concluded his 20-year career as a member of the Minnesota Senate and was elected to the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners in November 2022.
1971
Roger Johanson is professor emeritus of education at Coe College.
1972
John Huey Jr. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the owner of Huey Farms.
1973
Terry Eckhart of Dubuque, Iowa, is a retired OB-GYN physician.
Dave Kark of Hastings, Minn., retired from Midwest Imaging Solutions.
Steve Schmidt of Dayton, Minn., retired after 40 years in ordained ministry.
Carol (Galvin) Wick of Eagle, Colo., is retired from a career as a bilingual educator.
1975
Kathy (Sheriff) and Steve Mineck live in Elmhurst, Ill., where Steve is a domain specialist for flight operations with Laminaar Aviation Infotech–Americas and Kathy is retired from the University of Chicago Press.
1976
Sonya Forseth of Plymouth, Minn., is retired from the child protection and child support divisions with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis.
1977
David Nichols retired from Pediatric Associates of Topeka, Kan., after 37 years as a physician in primary care pediatrics.
1978
Ruth (Grant) Enge of Rosemount, Minn., retired from a career in accounting.
Elaine Isakson of Rockland, Maine, is retired from a career as a social worker.
Chris Olsen retired from serving as the executive director, secondary schools, for the Vancouver (Wash.) School District.
1981
Rick Canton of Miltona, Minn., is assistant women’s basketball coach at the College of St. Benedict (St. Joseph, Minn.) and was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Kenyon-Wanamingo Public Schools.
Laird Edman of Orange City, Iowa, professor of psychology at Northwestern College, retired in May. At commencement he was honored as the 2023 recipient of the college’s Faculty Excellence in Faith and Learning Award.
Jodi (Brekke) Potter of Chaska, Minn., is retired from Eastern Carver County School District.
Lu Ann (Olivas) Ransley of McFarland, Wis., is a retired business analysis consultant.
1982
Charlie Preis teaches at Edison High School in Minneapolis. He also directs the concert band at Century College in White Bear Lake and the handbell choir at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Roseville. He is a member of the Lake Wobegon Brass Band in Anoka, Minn.
1983
Brenda Severson Meyer of Readlyn, Iowa, retired from her work as a consulting actuary.
Kirsten (Olson) Reitan retired from a career in teaching in the Green Bay (Wis.) Public Schools.
Lori (Reyner) Roberts of Manchester, Iowa, is a first-grade teacher with the West Delaware County Community School District.
1984
Dave Fosburgh of Lake Mary, Fla., is principal and lead facilitator for TeamMechanics in Heathrow, Fla., a company Dave and his wife, Valerie, started in 2016. Dave is also a project consultant for the InnerView Group management consulting firm in Philadelphia.
1985
Denise (Swenson) Downhour of Inver Grove, Minn., is a second-grade teacher in the South Washington County Schools in Cottage Grove.
1988
Jerry Cook of Hartwell, Ga., is retired from a career in natural resource management.
Marlene (McGivern) Lunardi of Bettendorf, Iowa, is retired from a career as a software analyst.
Todd Lundberg of Houston, Minn., is retired from a career as a teacher and principal in the Houston Public Schools.
Lynn (Anderson) Peterson is a fourth-grade teacher in Rosemount, Minn.
1989
Linda (Flachsbart) Cook of Hartwell, Ga., is a teacher with the Anderson 5 School District in Anderson, S.C.
Jean Dickson of Bettendorf, Iowa, was elected to the Scott County (Iowa) Board of Supervisors last November.
Eugene Kreiter of Davenport, Iowa, is retired from a career as a PE and special education teacher and wrestling, football, and track coach.
Kim (Stone) Kros of Scottsdale, Ariz., retired after serving 32 years in federal law enforcement. Kim’s career included positions with the United States Customs Service and the United States Customs and Border Protection. Kim was stationed at the port of entry in Nogales, Ariz., and was a supervisory customs and border protection officer at the Area of Port of Phoenix.
1990
Becky (Kreutner) Saar of Mount Forest, Ontario, serves as a French immersion teacher for second and third grades in the Upper Grand District School Board.
Dan Spragle is president and COO of Bako Diagnostics in Alpharetta, Ga.
1991
Lisa (Rosby) Aldrich is a third-grade teacher in Lakeville, Minn.
Dana Anderson of Los Angeles is a second-grade teacher and induction mentor with the El Monte (Calif.) City School District.
Bret Rowse of Sioux City, Iowa, is a math teacher, assistant track coach, and quiz bowl coach at Sergeant Bluff-Luton High School.
Deanna (Kallman) Welch of Lakeville, Minn., is worship arts assistant at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville.
1992
Cora (Griffin) Dillin is an athletic director and dean of students in the Necedah (Wis.) School District. She has been recognized as Athletic Director of the Year in her district, and she received the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s State Award of Merit–Wisconsin.
Laura (Olson) Heuer is a kindergarten teacher in the Howard Lake Waverly Winsted School District in Minnesota. The district named her Staff Member of the Year in 2022.
Deborah Svec-Carstens is a writer, spiritual director, and editor. She is working on a memoir about the beginning of healing after trauma.
1993
Marya (Meyer) Rowse of Sioux City, Iowa, is an operational risk analyst with Allied Solutions.
1994
Sarah (Quamme) Haenel and her husband, Lon, are the new owners of decorahnews.com, the online local news outlet in Decorah.
Chris Shockey of Freeport, Ill., is the assistant regional superintendent for the regional office of education #8.
1996
Jennaya (Rogers) Robison was appointed artistic director of the National Luther Choir. A former associate professor of music at Luther, Jennaya is the third artistic director in the NLC’s 37-year history.
1997
Michael Elsbernd is college organist and applied music associate for organ at Grinnell College.
Gretchen Lund of Bloomington, Minn., is a middle school multilingual teacher with the Edina (Minn.) Public Schools.
Eric Sieger is a senior communications specialist for the city of Colorado Springs, Colo.
1997
Hallie (Hite) Evans of New Albin, Iowa, is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher, having passed her assessment in the fall of 2021. She teaches yoga classes in northeast Iowa, southeast Minn., and La Crosse, Wis.
1998
Brian Bergstrom is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Jill (Mikkelson) Bue of Shoreview, Minn., was chosen for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research program. Jill will travel to Jyväskylä, Finland, for three months to work with the University of Jyväskylä on her research project, A Focus on Mathematical Understanding and Eliminating the Gap: Best Teaching Practices 6–12.
Lisa (Bieber) Hagen is a behavioral health specialist with Families First Counseling Services and was honored as “Mrs. Poppy” in the Waukon (Iowa) Memorial Day parade in recognition of her fundraising efforts for area veterans and the American Legion Auxiliary.
Jeff Weiss of Bloomington, Minn., is a state floodplain engineer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
1999
Beth (Steinmetz) Heller of Nevada, Iowa, is a 5–12 instructional coach and director of school improvement with the Colo-NESCO School District.
Ben Larson of Kihei, Hawaii, is the owner of Maui Adventure Vacations.
2000
Toni (Deruyter) Hawkins of Fairbanks, Alaska, is a mathematics teacher with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.
Elisabeth (Marvin) Sandersfeld of Johnston, Iowa, is Merchants Bonding Company’s chief financial officer, treasurer, and chief risk officer.
Lindsey (Rendall) Schreurs is an associate principal with the School District of Sheboygan Falls, Wis.
Carrie Tresemer of Freeport, Ill., is a first-grade teacher, junior high cross country and basketball coach, and high school girls track and field coach with the Dakota School District.
Miranda Zahn and David Smith both work for the Yorkville (Ill.) Community School District, Miranda as an art teacher and David as a choir director.
2001
Katie (Peterson) Marchena-Roldan of Richmond, Texas, is the executive director of teaching and learning for the Lamar Consolidated ISD in Roseburg, Texas.
Erin Pederson of Ames, Iowa, is a psychologist consultant for Iowa Disability Determination Services.
Carolyn Sommers Tillotson is a school librarian at Eagle Ridge Academy in Minnetonka, Minn.
2002
Pauli Brandt of Guangzhou, China, is a special education needs coordinator at Utahloy International School Zengcheng.
Angie (Kruse) Fitzgerald won a 2023 TRUST Award, which celebrates women who are advancing efforts to help the health care industry transform its future. Angie works for the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match as vice president, corporate and foundation partnerships for the US and Mexico.
2003
Alex Anderson of Fort Collins, Colo., is an elementary school counselor.
Charlie Burnham is an English teacher at Burnsville (Minn.) High School.
Katy Dane is an orchestra and choir director with the Georgetown (Texas) School District. She also conducts two competitive a cappella barbershop choruses. In partnership with the National Association for Music Education, the Barbershop Harmony Society presented her with the 2022 Music Educator of the Year award.
Angie (Demmer) Hietala is director of elementary instruction at Kodiak (Alaska) Island Borough School District.
Justin Solsvig is the head grounds and sportsfield manager at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Ga.
Tiffany (Curtis) Strande is a certified medical assistant and pulmonary function technologist at Olmsted Medical Center. She is also a violinist in the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and a nutrition assistant at the Landing Homeless Shelter in Rochester, Minn.
2004
Emily (Martz) Anderson of Fort Collins, Colo., is a kindergarten teacher.
Tim Arnold is lead band teacher for Orono High School in Long Lake, Minn. He was named a quarterfinalist for the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum’s 2024 Music Educator Award.
Marnie (Price) Carlson of Decorah is a 6–8 school counselor with the Howard-Winneshiek Community School District in Cresco, Iowa.
Mandy Henderson of Lafayette, Colo., is creative resource director at WorkInProgress.
Sara (Kienlen) Kral of New Ulm, Minn., is executive director of special education with the Minnesota Valley Education District in St. Peter.
Elissa Zoerb of St. Paul, Minn., is a marketing project manager with October Three Consulting.
2005
Kari (Hoffman) Halstead is an educational consultant with Cooperative Educational Service Agency #11 in Turtle Lake, Wis.
Karl Hoeschen of Mendota Heights, Minn., is a business consultant with Expium, a Valiantys company.
Adam Jeffrey of Colorado Springs, Colo., is an online high school math teacher with the Colorado Springs School District.
Ryan Nilsestuen was appointed as a Dane County (Wis.) judge to Circuit Court–Branch 10.
Erik Olson is the principal of James B. McPherson IB School in Chicago.
Kristin Rice of Lafayette, Ind., is a campus pastor at Purdue Lutheran Ministry.
Dave Rowley of Lafayette, Colo., is executive creative director at Mondo Robot.
2006
Rachel (Bails) Jeffrey of Colorado Springs, Colo., is a teacher with the Falcon School District in Peyton, Colo.
Stephanie Lump of St. Louis Park, Minn., is an assistant site supervisor with Robbinsdale (Minn.) Area Schools–Community Education.
Josh Wilson of Monroe, Wis., is an associate principal with the School District of Monroe.
2007
Kendra (Swanson) Masters of Mount Horeb, Wis., is a hospital development specialist at UW Health Organ and Tissue Donation.
Sarah (Quick) Olejniczak is assistant vice president of student affairs and Title IX coordinator at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis.
Melissa (Schneider) Stueve was selected to represent Team USA as a medical provider with USA Track and Field at the 2022 NACAC Senior Championships in the Bahamas as well as the 2023 Pan Am U20 Championships in Puerto Rico. Melissa is an athletic trainer with UnityPoint Clinic Orthopedics in Waterloo, Iowa.
2008
Amanda (Allen) Connolly of Maple Grove, Minn., is a special education teacher with the Fridley (Minn.) Public Schools.
Meagan Esterby is a pastor at University Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, Pa.
Laura (Hockley) McKain is a high school English teacher in Laramie, Wyo. She was named Albany County Education Association’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.
Cale Nelson is a director at Travelers, Inc. in St. Paul, Minn.
2009
Liz Erickson of Minneapolis works for Hennepin County as a visiting nurse for pregnant women and new moms.
Jenny (Gaska) Paulson is an elementary special education teacher in Viroqua, Wis.
Aaron Peterson was named the Charles Deering McCormick Distinguished Professor of Instruction at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
Julia Schumacher of St. Paul, Minn., is an ESL teacher with the St. Paul Public Schools.
Kristin Swenson of Olympia, Wash., is an elementary school teacher with the Clover Park School District on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
2010
Shiloh Drew Hillertz of Hanover Park, Ill., is a concierge support specialist with Linden Lab.
Dave Schmitt is an elementary music teacher in the Waseca (Minn.) Public Schools.
Kirsten (Jensson) Scholz of Kasson, Minn., is a pricing operations coordinator at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
2011
Emily (Kilgore) Galle-From of Minneapolis is an elementary literacy specialist with ISD 622 in North St. Paul, Minn.
Alex Gisleson of Decorah is a K–12 music teacher in the Turkey Valley Community School District (Jackson Junction, Iowa).
Peter Magnuson of Boston, Mass., earned an MSW from Boise State University.
Taylor Scholz of Kasson, Minn., is an injury prevention specialist at Fit for Work.
Karl Streufert is a Thrivent financial advisor in Greenwood Village, Colo.
2012
Katie Wagner was ordained by the ELCA in May 2023 and is a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Birchwood, Wis.
2013
Shannon Curtis is band director for grades 6–8 at the Zimmerman (Minn.) Middle and High School. He was named a quarterfinalist for the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum’s 2024 Music Educator Award.
Cassandra (Chalhoub) Kotek is the vice president of marketing with Farmers State Bank in Marion, Iowa.
Kelsey (Brown) Legore of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a mezzo-soprano, conductor, and educator with Kelsey Legore Music. She earned an MM in choral conducting from Simpson College in 2021.
Erin Saiof is a senior quality engineer at Okadoc in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Tyler Wedemeier of Decorah has been recognized by the Iowa Academy of Science with an Excellence in Science Teaching Award.
2014
Kristen Flak-Solom of Middleton, Wis., presented at the 2023 American String Teachers Association national conference and is the state orchestra chair for the Wisconsin Music Educators Association.
Katherine (Ollman) Gisleson of Decorah is pre-K–3 music teacher in the MFL MarMac Community School District (Monona, Iowa).
Alex Greiner earned an MD from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and a PhD in genetics from the University of Iowa. He is doing a residency in internal medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Micayla Irmiter works for the Edina (Minn.) Public Schools as an art teacher.
Hannah (Wilson) Loewen of Mankato, Minn., is a mentor coach with the Mankato Area Public Schools.
2015
Paige (Clark) Anderson is a transplant social worker for M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center.
Sarah Brandt lives in Decorah and is a registration manager for BCD Meetings and Events, working with the company’s Bank of America account.
Eric “Flint” Angeroth Franks of Magnolia, Ark., completed a DM in brass performance at Florida State University and is director of jazz ensembles and high brass instructor at Southern Arkansas University.
Kristen (Winter) Hackman of Calmar, Iowa, is an elementary school teacher with the Turkey Valley Community School District (Jackson Junction, Iowa).
Ryley Kramka of Minneapolis earned an MA in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University–Irvine.
Danielle (Border) McKim serves as secretary and treasurer for the North Central Iowa Bandmasters Association.
Laura (Peterson) Meola of Altoona, Iowa, earned an MEd from the American College of Education.
Braun Oldenkamp completed a DMA in voice performance at Boston University and is an assistant professor of voice at Murray (Ky.) State University.
Sam Weinberg finished his internal medicine residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin and will begin practicing hospital medicine at ProHealth in Waukesha, Wis.
Rachel Williams of Washington, DC, received a Terrorism Analysis Graduate Certificate from the University of Maryland. This follows an earlier MA she received in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University. She is a program manager at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership.
2016
Taryn Bolea of Mahtomedi, Minn., earned an MA in education with curriculum and instruction specialization from Saint Mary’s University.
Coriann Dorgay of Mukwonago, Wis., earned an MPH in infectious disease epidemiology from the Yale School of Public Health.
Joy Harris earned an MD and is in the general surgery residency program at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Moran Lonning is head women’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.
Greta (Anetsberger) Morgan of Downers Grove, Ill., earned an MS in nursing with a clinical nurse leadership specialty from Saint Xavier University and is an RN spine navigator with Edward Elmhurst Health.
Saydi (Stewart) and Josh Olson live in Marshfield, Wis., where Saydi is a 7–12 vocal and handbell music teacher in the Spencer (Wis.) Public Schools and Josh is a 7–12 vocal music teacher with the Marshfield School District.
Casey Tecklenburg of La Porte City, Iowa, is a 6–12 vocal music director with the Union Community School District.
2017
Jess (Morrill) Andrade of Sparta, Wis., is a quality assurance manager with Foremost Farms.
Kayla (Ingvalson) and Jacob Frisbie live in Shawnee, Kan., where Kayla earned a master’s degree in teaching, leadership, and cultural competency from the University of Iowa and is a sixth-grade science and social studies teacher with the Shawnee Mission School District. Jacob is an orthopedic surgery resident.
Jedidiah (Nixon) McCurry of Trego, Mont., earned a master’s degree in biology from Western Kentucky University and is pursuing an RN.
Anna Wehde completed a PhD in counseling psychology from Iowa State University and is a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at the Community Health Center in Danbury/Bristol, Conn.
2018
Peggy Devine is an administrative assistant of firmwide events for Sidley Austin in Chicago.
2019
Catelyn Janda of Magnolia, Ark., completed an MS in educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a professional academic advisor at Southern Arkansas University.
Hannah (Carmon) Simon teaches second grade at a Minnesota Transitions Charter School, Banaadir Elementary. She wrote her school’s behavior plan, which is being implemented throughout the entire district.
Paige Yontz received a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine and was the commencement speaker for her class. She is the advocacy manager for the Iowa state office of AARP, advocating for legislation that protects and supports older Iowans.
2020
Andrew Avila is a fifth- and sixth-grade science teacher in the Chicago Public Schools.
Hannah Gross of St. Louis Park, Minn., earned an MSW and is a legal dispositional advisor for the Hennepin County (Minn.) Public Defender’s Office.
Anna (Hug) and Matthew Harper live in Waukee, Iowa. Anna is a sixth-grade band director with the Waukee School District. Matthew teaches general music and leads middle school choir for the Urbandale School District.
Melanie (Gossman) Hovden is a senior accountant at Hacker, Nelson, and Co. in Decorah.
Peder Smith is an assistant director of admissions at Luther College.
Amber Sorenson of Slayton, Minn., earned an MA degree in communication studies from Kent State University.
Hannah Wollack earned an MA in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Northern Iowa. She is an accommodations coordinator in the University of Iowa’s Student Disability Services Department.
2021
Amelia Hornseth of St. Paul, Minn., is a copywriter with HealthPartners.
Blake Krapfl of Brooklyn Center, Minn., earned an MS in architectural engineering from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and is an acoustic designer with the DLR Group in Minneapolis.
Madeline Lomprey is an international admissions counselor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Christion Pinkney is a shelter case manager at New Hope Housing in Virginia.
2022
Lindsey Parrott is pursuing a master’s degree in genetic counseling from Sarah Lawrence College.
2023
Ethan Bellendier of Independence, Iowa, is a special operations ambassador with Scribe America.
Jalen DenHartog of Boise, Idaho, is a behavioral intervention specialist with LIFE Incorporated.
Nicole Fitzpatrick is a PICU staff nurse at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
Emma Fretheim of Decorah is a product specialist with DI Labs.
Allegra Garcia is a public health coordinator with AmeriCorps in St. Paul, Minn.
Greta Stauffacher of Ham Lake, Minn., is a registered nurse at Children’s Minnesota Hospital.
Madilyn Wooten is a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.