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profiles 2026

OUR YEARLY LOOK AT SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES UNIQUE

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Southern Minn Profiles 2026 | Page 2

content Sueur’s Newell 3 LeKrogmann has

demonstrated leadership on battleship, courtroom and pulpit

Laura 6 Faribault’s Bock’s life takes her from farm, to cave, to nonprofit work

Dave Johnson 8 St.hasPeter’s almost 20 years of volunteering postretirement and has no plans of stopping

Todd Hale’s love 12 How for Owatonna led to

success in media and widespread recognition

profiles SEPTEMBER 2026

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Mar Valdecantos 15 How became Northfield’s

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Newell Krogmann, pictured next to the Welcome to Le Sueur sign, has lived a life of leadership as a military judge, pastor, city councilor and Rotarian.

On battleship, courtroom and pulpit, Krogmann demonstrates leadership

hether overseeing a homicide case as a military judge, counseling hospital patients as a pastor or weighing in on zoning ordinances as the current chair of Le Sueur’s Planning Commission, Newell Krogmann has abided by several core lessons. Listen carefully. Always pay attention to detail. Try to be fair. Do your part to give back to the community. Though the stakes and settings have

By CARSON HUGHES carson.hughes@apgsomn.com

changed dramatically over Krogmann’s 57-year career spanning the military, the church, the Le Sueur City Council and volunteer work, his core principles have remained the same. “It’s a way of serving, and I strongly believe that as a member of a community, I should be serving in any way that I can,” Krogmann said. Today, the 82-year-old Le Sueur resident applies this mentality while providing children with school supplies through the Le Sueur Rotary’s backpack program, raising funds for youth literacy and the Le Sueur Food Shelf by staffing the Rotary’s annual Turkey Trot and serving as chair of the Le Sueur Planning Commission. Yet his history of service goes back long before Krogmann stepped foot in Le Sueur. With 23 years in the Judge Advocate General Corps and 14 years at the pulpit behind him,

Krogmann has accumulated enough titles and accomplishments to fill a resume several pages long. Still, Krogmann remains somewhat private about his achievements. In fact, he nearly declined the interview. What interests him is not the list of places he has been or positions he has held, but what those experiences have allowed him to do for other people. “If anything that I said could influence or encourage people to serve others, to listen to others, whatever it is,” he said, “that’s what it’s all about.” It is a fitting way to understand a life that has moved from Navy courtrooms to church pews to city hall meetings, with service acting as the thread connecting them all.

FROM LAW SCHOOL TO THE NAVY

Krogmann grew up in the Chicago area, living in the city until he was about 10 years old before his family moved into the suburbs. He attended Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa and eventually moved to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University law school. The Vietnam War was raging overseas by the time Krogmann graduated, and like many young men in his generation he became involved in the war effort, entering the Navy in 1969 as a JAG attorney. Krogmann admits that he hadn’t planned on spending his career in the military when he first joined, but after four years, he found that he enjoyed tackling the challenges that came CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Southern Minn Profiles 2026 | Page 4

the world’s largest warships, Krogmann acted as the primary legal advisor for its captain and the 5,000-person crew, handling wills, powers of attorney, issues with leases and disciplinary matters. “It was a challenge,” he said. “Everything from legal assistance matters for the crew to advising the captain on legal matters was my responsibility.” Krogmann’s 23 year legal career would also see him serve as the staff advisor for a Patrol Wing aviation unit primarily focused on the detection of submarines and the assistant officer in charge of a legal service office in Yokosuka, Japan. The Navy also provided Krogmann with an extra year of education, allowing him to obtain his master’s degree in law from the University of Virginia Law School before becoming a military judge in Newport, Rhode Island.

FROM BENCH TO PULPIT

Newell Krogmann speaks at a Rotary District 5960 event for the Rotary Foundation

In 2021, Le Sueur Mayor Shawn Kirby cuts the ribbon opening Main Street to through traffic. He was joined at the ceremony by (left to right) Dan Ryerson, Melissa Huntington and Jack Roberts of the Le Sueur Planning Commission, City Councilor Scott Schlueter, former councilor Dave Johnson, former councilor John Favolise, Councilor Newell Krogmann and Councilor Mark Huntington.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 with it. “I found it to be a fascinating career with great challenges and decided to stay,” said Krogmann. “I didn’t have to, but I found it to be something that was what I felt I should be doing.” A few months after graduation, Krogmann began active duty in Norfolk, Virginia, where he handled prosecution and defense work in the Navy-Marine Corps Judiciary. Krogmann’s work was similar to that of prosecutors and defense attorneys in civilian criminal court, representing either the government or a service member accused of violating the U.S. military criminal code, the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Cases could center around charges parallel to federal crimes like theft and perjury, to offenses unique to the military code such as insubordination, desertion and absence without leave.

Should a service member be found guilty, penalties could range from demotion to imprisonment, unpaid duty or expulsion from the military depending on the severity of the charges. While stationed in Norfolk, Krogmann took on his first cases as a military judge. Much of the caseload involved charges of unauthorized absence, but at times the Navy JAG Corps Commander was faced with particularly challenging cases, sometimes involving senior officers and accusations of serious criminal malfeasance. One of the most challenging cases of Krogmann’s career became the subject of widespread national attention when five petty officers and their superior were charged in association with the 1988 drowning death of 19-year-old Navy recruit Lee Mirecki. The petty officers stood accused of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy to commit battery In what was the first case Krogmann

When Krogmann retired from the Navy in 1992, many people would have considered it the culmination of one’s career, but for Krogmann, it was the beginning of another. In what he described as a call to serve, Krogmann traded his judge’s robes for a pastor’s, taking up seminary in Dubuque, Iowa for three years before becoming ordained as a Presbyterian minister. “I felt that that’s what I should be doing after prayerful consideration, also, of course, consultation with my wife and frankly, input from a lot of other people that I worked with tried as a judge in Pensacola, Florida — several in church circles for years, I felt that that’s what years after his earlier work in Virginia. I should be doing,” Krogmann said. In what appeared to be a training exercise The role is what ultimately brought gone too far, Mirecki was expected to complete Krogmann to Le Sueur, where he served as a “sharks and daisies” drill, a hostile pool exreverend for the Presbyterian Church of Le ercise meant to simulate the intense difficulty Sueur. Within the walls of the church, which of rescuing panicking victims at sea. Despite has since closed after its final service in 2018, Mirecki asking to quit the exercise, witnesses Krogmann began a different kind of service reported that his instructors threw him back focused on tending to the spiritual lives of his in the pool and dunked congregation. him under the water Unlike a judge, where until he fell unconcases come to you, as a scious. minister, Krogmann said One officer would he had to take a more end up being found proactive approach to guilty of negligent meet people where they homicide by a five-ofwere at. ficer court martial and “Its a matter of sentenced to 90 days being there for people in the brig alongside a and helping them find reduction in rank. The their course for where incident went on to they are, where they’re spur numerous safety headed. There’s also sort reforms to high-risk of the routine to it, the training in the Navy. weekly service where Krogmann said that you preach, the funerals, handling cases like the weddings, visitations these required him of people who are in the to use all of the legal hospital or sick at home knowledge and experior those who are homeence he had acquired. ward bound. There’s a “It was using all great expanse of what - Newell Krogmann of the experience I you do,” he said. had had in my career, For 14 years, Kromaking sure that I was fair and impartial, and gmann served as the Presbyterian Church’s frankly, the challenges of dealing with very pastor before retiring in 2009. Still, he concomplex cases and making sure that everyone tinued to devote his attention to cultivating was treated fairly,” Krogmann said. faith, spending five more years working with Between Krogmann’s tenures as a military the presbyter to help churches that wanted to transform and assist with the establishment of judge, one of the highlights of his career was new congregations. serving as an instructor at the Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island where he had the pleasure of helping young lawyers SERVICE ABOVE SELF prepare for their service in the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. If there is a phrase that best captures KrogFrom there, Krogmann would go to serve as mann’s approach to life, it may be the Rotary part of the original pre-commissioning crew of motto: “Service above self.” the USS Nimitz when the aircraft carrier was It was no shock then that Krogmann would commissioned in 1975. While aboard one of come to join the organization one year after

“

It was using all of the experience I had had in my career, making sure that I was fair and impartial, and frankly, the challenges of dealing with very complex cases and making sure that everyone was treated fairly.

Page 5 | Southern Minn Profiles 2026

taking up residence in Le Sueur, to put the philosophy of service that he preached into practice. Shortly after joining, in 2009 and 2010, Krogmann served as a district governor for the global service organization, having responsibility for approximately 65 Rotary clubs between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Krogmann has also spent time as a regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, assisting in the fundraising for 12 Rotary districts and helping deliver Rotary Foundation funds to perform service projects locally and throughout the world. “To me, that was absolutely rewarding to see what the districts could do and the clubs could do with a little bit of help and encouragement. But they did the work, and I was able to help them to be able to do what they wanted to do,” Krogmann said. In Le Sueur, the Rotary Club has remained active with its backpack and literacy programs, promoting student nutrition and learning, supporting financial preparedness in high schoolers with the GIANT$ Reality Challenge, cultivating public parks and the environment with the Adopt-aPark and Bags to Benches programs and spreading Christmas cheer through taking part in the Christmas in the Valley celebration. But as an international organization, Rotary has had impacts that spread across the globe. The organization’s most impactful project has been its campaign to fight to eradicate polio, committing over $900 million to the cause over the course of its history. Since the Rotary Club first spearheaded the public health effort alongside the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund in 1988, the number of countries where polio remains endemic has dropped to just two: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Rotarian Newell Krogmann speaks at the Le Sueur Rotary Club 75th anniversary, held at the Next Chapter Winery in New Prague. The club’s charter was signed on Feb. 4, 1948.

CIVIC SERVICE Krogmann’s commitment to service has also taken him to city hall, where he currently sits on several boards and commissions. He spent six years on the city council wbetween 2017 and 2022, and considers

his involvement in efforts to give the city a longer-term direction through establishing a capital improvement plan and implementing its comprehensive plan to be a highlight of his tenure. Today, he serves as chairman of the Planning Commission. He also serves on the

Airport Commission and Economic Development Authority and represents the city on the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency board of directors. n Reach Reporter Carson Hughes at 507-931-8575. © Copyright 2025 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota. All Rights Reserved.

Southern Minn Profiles 2026 | Page 6

Laura Bock said her time at her family’s farm gave her her love for volunteering.

Bock’s life takes her from farm, to cave, to nonprofit work

MARCO RIVERO LUNA marco.luna@apgsomn.com

aura Bock spent her youth as the oldest of six sisters helping out on her family farm. On the farm, everyone needs to do a little bit of everything: Many hands make light work. Now, she’s the first full-time executive director of the Faribault Foundation, and under her stewardship the charity has grown from $200,000 in assets under management to $6 million in less than three years. “When you volunteer, donate your time or

talent, there’s a feeling that you get from it. It’s almost like it’s an endorphin release.” she said. “When you do good things for other people, you feel good too.” Running a charitable organization like the Faribault Foundation was never part of the plan for Bock. She said she went to the Oliver Thein Beauty School and worked as a nail technician at Nail It Tan It, a now-closed Faribault salon, in her early 20s. Bock then briefly lived in Eagle Lake, Minnesota before moving back to Faribault after a divorce. “What do you do when you fall on hard times?” she asked. “You have to come back home.”

Outgoing Faribault Rotary Club president Kurt Halverson hands over his gavel to new president Laura Bock. She is now the club’s 104th president in 2023. (Photo submitted by Rotary Club of Faribault)

Page 7 | Southern Minn Profiles 2026

Since then she’s lived the rest of her life in Faribault. Initially, she was still commuting back to Mankato where she worked as an administrative assistant at a medical clinic. When she learned about an opening at the cheese caves at Faribault Dairy Company, being a farm girl she decided to take it. At the time, the company was working on opening a cheese store in Faribault’s Central Avenue. When it came time to open the owners asked Bock to help run the store. “The store was wildly popular, and when it first opened, it was a really big deal. There were lots of really great people involved with it,” she said. “We had great staff, and the owners were fantastic. So it was a really fun time.” It was at this same time that Bock said she really started getting involved with the local community. She became a Faribault Chamber of Commerce ambassador and helped out a lot as its main street program was getting off the ground. “Time and talent — that’s all I had to give back in the day,” she said. “I was born here but I really found my place in the community when I started volunteering. Just giving back to the community helped me find a sense of belonging.” She later worked in office management roles at a law firm and two financial offices. She said all three of her jobs really encouraged her to continue her involvement in the community, Jason Hoffman at Hoffman & Associates, PLLC was actually her Rotary Club sponsor. She also said she gained valuable experience when it came to financial planning and running organizations. “I have a very unique work experience. I think my love of volunteering and giving back to the community and supporting the nonprofit combined, with the little bit of knowledge I got from the law office and the little bit of knowledge I got working for financial advisors, is the perfect skill set for doing what I do now.” she said. “I’m really just kind of like the air traffic controller here. We’re doing great work and it’s just really super rewarding. Like this is a job I never knew I could have.” Bock served as president of the Rotary Club of Faribault between 2023 and 2024. That time was particularly busy for Bock, she also took over as the first full-time executive director of the Faribault Foundation. “That was a fun, very busy year,” she said laughing. She said one of the focuses for her and the foundation’s board of directors was on growing the organization into a more active charity. “The foundation was run kind of similar to the United Way, where it would just raise some

Executive Director of the Faribault Foundation Laura Bock said that the foundation wants to help local organizations with the CommUnity grant in 2025.

money and make some grants into the community, filling the little holes where it could,” she said. “The board of directors at that time, along with then-director Kymn Anderson, decided to pivot from what we all lovingly call a sleepy foundation, to the full-scale, full-fledged community foundation we are today.” The foundation has grown rapidly and will soon relocate its office from the Faribault Chamber of Commerce building to a new location in Faribault’s downtown. Bock said she thought the foundation should be at the heart of Faribault, and to her that’s the downtown. “It’s kind of coming full circle. This all started for me in 2009 when I took my job at the Cheese Cave. My husband and I actually met at a (Chamber of Commerce) Main Street meeting in 2011. The best parts of my life have happened around that downtown.” she said. “I love downtown Faribault.” n Marco Rivero Luna is a reporter for the Faribault Daily News. Reach him at 815-981-5389. © Copyright 2026 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Faribault Foundation Executive Director Laura Bock, thanking supporters during the Viaduct Park opening ceremony in 2025. She said the Foundation is honored to contribute to a space that brings joy and connection to the Faribault community.

Winterfest 2022 Grand Marshall Laura Bock stands and waves alongside an inflatable snowman.

Police Officer Brandon Gliem chatting with Faribault Foundation Executive Director Laura Bock at the Faribault Business Mixer in 2025.

Southern Minn Profiles 2026 | Page 8

St. Peter veteran Dave Johnson shares the importance of the American flag during the Veterans Day ceremony at St. Peter Middle School/High School in 2018.

Nicollet County’s outstanding citizen credits volunteering for good health Dave Johnson, 80, keeps focus on support of ‘community, count, state and country’

MARCO RIVERO LUNA marco.luna@apgsomn.com

ave Johnson retired in 2008 but that hasn’t stopped him from working. The now-80-year-old is almost at 20 years of volunteering post-retirement and says he has no plans of stopping.

“When I retired, my goal, of course, was to fish every day,” he said. “But you really can’t fish all the time, and so you just get involved with things, and that kind of snowballs, and pretty soon you find yourself quite busy and enjoying all of it.” Johnson is a Commander of the Last Man Club Vietnam War Era Saint Peter Area, a volunteer at the St. Peter American Legion Post 37, and a member of the July 4th committee for the St. Peter Chamber of Commerce.

Dave Johnson said he originally wanted to do nothing but fish after retiring. He still enjoys it but spends more time volunteering post-retirement.

Page 9 | Southern Minn Profiles 2026

Dave Johnson said volunteering helps keep him healthy and active. He also agrees that it helps the community healthy and is proud of the awareness he’s brought to events like Flag Day.

“Sometimes, somebody just has to do it or it’s not going to get done,” Johnson said. “I really like my community, my county, state, and country. When you’re passionate about a few things, you want to make sure that that you pass it on to the next generation and generations after that.” It’s a mantra that Johnson has followed through with through his life. Johnson was Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army Reserves for 8 years between 1968 to 1976 and worked as a truck master. After leaving the Army, he said he was a member of the St. Peter school board. A memorable experience in that era was when

the local hockey teams couldn’t find enough coaches for its kids. Seeing the need, Johnson said he stepped up and got involved and that experience has paid dividends later on. “‘You get to know those hockey players from the time they’re five years old, their parents too, and suddenly you become friends,” he said. “It’s a whole new millennia of adults you get to meet, plus their kids, and then you get invited to the graduation parties, and you know, it’s just a good social avenue.” It isn’t just a great way to meet people, JohnCONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Dave Johnson and Sandi Francis of St. Peter were recognized as Nicollet County Outstanding Senior Citizens at the Nicollet County Fair on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. They each received a certificate for two Chanhassen Dinner Theatre tickets courtesy of KNUJ Radio, as well as Minnesota State Fair tickets and a lapel pin. Rose Rustman (center) presented them with their awards.

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Dave Johnson rings the ceremonial bell in honor of the veterans on the St. Peter Memorial Honor Wall.

Dave Johnson is now a Commander for the Last Man Club Vietnam War Era Saint Peter Area. He’s proud of the success its annual Last Man Golf Classic has had at raising money for veterans in need.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 son says volunteering has helped him maintain his health too. “The experts say socialization is so important as you age. It’s a lot better to go out than staying in the house,” he said. “They found that going out and socializing led to 15% to 20% less age-related cognitive decline. So staying active and involved really helps diminish the aging process mentally.” Johnson also keeps himself physically active. He said he’s enrolled in five different exercises classes at the River’s Edge Hospital that he attends weekly. Although he’s had to slow down a

little this year after getting a knee replacement earlier in the year, he said he has no plans to stop going out to volunteer. “I had to slow down a little, but now I’m back selling bingo cards, and I’m back attending all the exercise classes,” he said. “I don’t know of a thing that I’ve volunteered in the past that I’m not continuing to do.” Johnson has been able to adapt for his health in the past, too. After he retired, he initially worked as a part-time meter reader for the city. But, after he discovered he needed a bypass surgery, he decided to stop fighting snowdrifts and shifted his energy to the American Legion and his work in the Last Man Club.

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Johnson is proud of the work he’s been able to do at the club since its founding in 2010. Johnson said the club’s annual Last Man Club Golf Classic has been a great success. The classic takes 42 teams. This year, it filled in five hours. Johnson said the club has been able to give $170,000 in emergency aid funds to about 180 different veterans in its 11-year history. He also said that community service helps keep the community healthy too. Three years ago he was part of a dignified disposal event for unserviceable U.S. flags. At that first event, he said - Dave Johnson the only people there were the people hosting it. Next year, he saw maybe a couple dozen. This year he said he saw almost 100 come to honor the flag. “People start sensing in the community the importance of the flag … and it demands respect. And so, when you get that kind of reinforcement, you just keep doing it,” he said. “We noticed this year at our big Fourth of July

“

parade … there was a lot more people that would stop talking and watch the flag go by and salute.” Johnson hopes to keep at it as long as he can. He was named one of two Nicolett County Outstanding Senior Citizen’s at the Nicolett County Fair in July, an honor he said caught him by surprise. He encourages people to get involved and help fill needs. “You can get other people to join these organizations, but you can’t get them to volunteer to do stuff. So it gets back to that premise: if you want it to get done, you do it yourself,” he said. “I just encourage everybody to keep active, keep social, and if you see a need get involved with it.” n

I just encourage everybody to keep active, keep social, and if you see a need get involved with it.”

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Todd Hale pictured next to the fountain in downtown Owatonna’s Cental Park.

Hale’s love for Owatonna led to success in media, widespread recognition

nown by some as Mr. Owatonna and to others as Owatonna’s memory, Todd Hale has been a fixture in the community since his arrival in 1959. He is easily recognizable to residents from his time as a radio personality and eventual owner of KRFO radio station, his local access talk show, his involvement with the Steele County Free Fair, and stints on the Owatonna Parks and Recreation Board, Hospital Board and Airport Commission. Hale

TIM MESSENGER IV tim.messenger@apgsomn.com

has been a spectator and avid participant in the development and growth of Owatonna for more than six and a half decades. Following what he initially considered a stop preceding bigger things, Hale has become a personage of note in the story of a town whose history he lived and has made his mission to chronicle. If one were to take a walk with Todd Hale, they would notice immediately just how entrenched in the community he is. From the fountain in Central Park to his black Lincoln parked in front of the Little Professor Bookstore no fewer than three people called out to him by name, including a vehicle whose occupant stopped to ask how he was doing.

Hale wasn’t always Mr. Owatonna. He graduated from Edina High School in 1957 before embarking upon his journey toward that title at Brown Institute for Broadcasting where he hoped to establish a foothold into the radio business. In 1959, following his time at Brown, he found his foothold at KRFO in Owatonna where he acted as an on-air personality. During these early years he married his wife, Mary. Mary grew up in an apartment that was situated upstairs at the KRFO studio on the corner of Cedar and Pearl Street in Owatonna. Hale says that she would come down to talk to her friend who worked as a receptionist for the station and that theirs was love at first sight. They were

married in 1960 following a year-long courtship. Their first son Steve was born shortly thereafter in 1961, and subsequent years saw the births of his son Tim and daughter Allison. Hale began writing a weekly column for what was then called the Owatonna Photo News as a hobby. With his roots firmly planted, Hale was presented with the opportunity to buy KRFO, which he did, acquiring a one-third stake alongside his business partners Jerry Boos and Pink Allen in 1963. “That was the start of my career which spanned over 30 years at the radio station,” Hale said. “I was running announcers and doing my on-air work. I was also pegged as the news person covering events here in Owa-

Page 13 | Southern Minn Profiles 2026

that time the station was sold and Hale considered himself to be semi-retired from radio though he continued to work for the station as an on-air personality in a more limited capacity until 1991. In 1992, video revitalized the radio star as Hale began his own local access program called “Owatonna Today,” which involved him conducting interviews in the vein of a talk show. During this period, he also became affiliated with the Steel County Free Fair, serving as entertainment and advertising director. Owatonna Today ran for around ten years until 2002 and further embedded Hale into the hearts and minds of Owatonna residents. His formal association with the fair ended in 2013. However, he remains the voice of the fairground’s public address as a volunteer. Mary died in 2022 following 62 years of marital bliss as Hale’s beloved housewife and mother to his children, who are now all retired and have blessed him with five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He still writes his weekly column for the Owatonna People’s Press and keeps up with community happenings while giving voice to the town’s history. The 87-year-old Hale has left an indelible mark on the community and he hopes to continue to do so for as long as he is able. “Owatonna has become my home. I moved here in 1959 having never heard of Owatonna. It was totally strange to me when I arrived,” Hale said. “However, over the years I’ve been everywhere in this town. I’ve enjoyed being active in so many different aspects of this community and knowing so many different people that made Owatonna what it is today.” n

Radio personality Todd Hale on the air.

tonna. That continued the blossom to a point where I was involved in just about everything that was going on in the community.” Hale continued to work on the radio while contributing to the Owatonna Photo News until its acquisition by the Owatonna People’s

“

Press and has continued to contribute to this day. Though now he is more of a local historian than a daily news man. “I try not to get into the daily news in my column nowadays,” Hale said. “I primarily go back in history and talk about things that have

happened that I remember.” In 1989, his business partners, who he says were a few years his senior, decided to step away from the radio business and retire. So, at

Owatonna has become my home. I moved here in 1959 having never heard of Owatonna. It was totally strange to me when I arrived. However, over the years I’ve been everywhere in this town. I’ve enjoyed being active in so many different aspects of this community and knowing so many different people that made Owatonna what it is today.” - Todd Hale

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Southern Minn Profiles 2026 | Page 14

Northfield’s Mar Valdecantos is the executive director of Rice County Neighbors United who is pictured here standing in front of Mercado Local in downtown Northfield.

Valdecantos is Northfield’s ‘completely accidental community organizer’

COLTON KEMP colton.kemp@apgsomn.com

ar Valdecantos never planned to become one of Northfield’s most visible community advocates. She planned to be a writer. “I’m the completely accidental community organizer because I never thought that I was going to be doing this work,” Valdecantos said. “I always thought a writer, I’m gonna be writing my novels, and

I’m going to be publishing, and that’s going to be my life.” That life took a detour when she met her husband, a political scientist from Miami who was doing research in Madrid. After marriage and a stint in Florida, the couple landed in Northfield in 1998 when he accepted a job teaching at Carleton College. The transition was brutal. “We come here in February, no snow on the ground, everything pale,” Valdecantos said. “I’d always been a big-city person, always: Madrid, Paris, New York. … You enter the town, it’s a big highway. There’s nothing to see until you get to Division Street, and even then it’s just three blocks of a town. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness,

Mar Valdecantos poses in the back of the Mercado Local with feathery wings hanging behind her.

Page 15 | Southern Minn Profiles 2026

where are we landing? This is horrific.’” It took five years for Northfield to feel like home. “We started meeting with his future colleagues and their families and such, and (my husband is) like ‘These people seem very nice and they seem very happy, so maybe it’s not that horrible here.’ But it took me five years.” What changed, she said, was having children and connecting with other parents through the schools. She also began noticing something she hadn’t expected: large families from Mexico shopping together.

“

Over time, you start learning what the issues are. I never knew what life is like for a person without a legal status in the U.S. When I started living here, I never knew ICE existed.” - Mar Valdecantos

“I was so envious. They were like, ‘Oh, this is great! So lucky that they have family here.’ … Like, I miss my mom,” she said. Those connections deepened into friendships, and the friendships revealed struggles she hadn’t known existed. “Over time, you start learning what the issues are,” she said. “I never knew what life is like for a person without a legal status in the

Mar Valdecantos, the executive director of Rice County Neighbors United, stands at the register of Mercado Local in early September in Northfield. Mercado Local is one of the Rice County Neighbors United’s most visible initiatives.

U.S. When I started living here, I never knew ICE existed.” She joined the Northfield Human Rights Commission, hoping to bring the International Day of Peace to the city. “This country has so many celebrations about war,” she joked. “Let’s bring more peace.”

ACCIDENTAL ADVOCATE After a fellow commissioner suggested holding office hours at the Community Action Center, but people didn’t show up. So Valdecantos spoke up. “Why don’t we connect where people gather? I think the Hispanic community is very invisible, is suffering in silence,” she said.

That’s when she connected with another beloved Northfield figure, Dennis Keith Dempsey, widely known as Father Denny. He served at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church from 2004-2019, and was killed in a car crash in 2021. She set it up after Mass at St. Dom’s, and CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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Southern Minn Profiles 2026 | Page 16

Kids gathered around Mar Valdecantos to work on a crafts project during the 2016 Cinco de Mayo event at Northfield Middle School. The event included other similar kids’ activities, as well as food, dancing, singing and Latino recognition. (Philip Weyhe/Northfield News)

The nonprofit Rice County Neighbors United grew out of those early advocacy efforts, born from conversations on the local Spanish-language radio show where Valdecantos volunteered and eventually became the constant presence. “I became a volunteer and then I was stuck with it. It’s like, be careful what you volunteer for, and I’ve been stuck with it,” she said. “Now it’s a completely different team of people, so I’m the constant there.” The nonprofit’s work has included the community ID campaign, which made Northfield the only city in Minnesota with such a program, and a constant push for visibility and representation. “I’m always writing for the newspaper, bringing awareness and telling people ‘This is the reality of these people; this is the reality of this town,’” she said. “It’s not ‘Everything is so wonderful and beautiful homes and everybody’s happy.’ No, there’s a lot of suffering here.” Gina Washburn, a retired lawyer who is currently another advocate and organizer for the Hispanic community of Northfield, said Valdecantos has had a major impact on the community. “She’s been a tireless advocate for the migrant community for many years,” Washburn said. “She has a boundless imagination of creative and artistic ways to attain visibility and support for the migrant community. She challenges all of us to become more aware and to learn about our migrant neighbors.”

MERCADO LOCAL

Christine Whear, at left, and Mar Valdecantos applaud Neil Slifka, who raises his hand and shouts “lotería” upon winning a game of the Mercado Local version of “Mexican bingo” last week at Imminent Brewing, where the Mercado holds a monthly fundraiser with the game. (Colton Kemp — NorthfieldNews. com)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 the complaints started coming: Housing. Cockroaches. Viking Terrace. The Northfield Estates, known locally by the Hispanic community as “Dallas.” The work eventually led to the city’s first provisional rental license, mandatory inspections and a new tiered rental ordinance. “We went from the tenants have the issue to tenant protections. In my view, that is still a revolution for the city of Northfield,” she said. About 100 Northfield community members, white and minority, gathered at St. Dominic’s Church Sunday to voice concerns and come up with solutions after United States election results have left some local residents worried. (Photo courtesy of Mar Valdecantos)

In 2021, a grant from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation planted the seeds for Mercado Local, the downtown market and community space that has become one of the nonprofit’s most visible projects. The journey from pop-up markets at the Northfield Depot and Riverwalk to a permanent storefront on Division Street took years of uncertainty. “We started here in 2023. Until then, it was here and there, and it was just messy,” Valdecantos said. The permanent space came together through an unexpected connection with local entrepreneur Jennifer Sawyer. “I contacted this woman that I’ve never met ever in my life,” Valdecantos said, referring to Sawyer. “We went to have coffee at Hideaway. I was explained the idea there and, the same afternoon, she sends me a message: ‘We’ll make it happen.’ Like, uh, huh?” Sawyer assembled a group of women who paid the rent for a year. The Mercado has since blossomed from a pop-up market into a meaningful place for the Hispanic community, its entrepreneurs and its artists to sell their merchandise. It also offers a sense of community and empowerment. “We’ve created so much momentum and progress,” she said. “It’s just from the people coming here. I never knew there was an immigrant community in Northfield. I never knew these people had so many talents. I never knew this place could be so beautiful. I never thought, when we started the work of the nonprofit, that it could get to this level because we were doing a lot of awareness campaigns.” The Friendship Trees project, which wrapped downtown Northfield’s trees in colorful crochet this summer, was born from the community’s need for healing during Operation Metro Surge. “We gathered there, and it was so much relief to be in community, to be with people after the many months and all the horrible winter,” she said. “The friendships, people that didn’t know each other, now we know each other, and we become friends. This cannot stop.”

Page 17 | Southern Minn Profiles 2026

Rice County Neighbors United Executive Director Mar Valdecantos closes some treats after most the volunteers had finished packing goodie bags Friday. (Colton Kemp — NorthfieldNews.com)

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

your country. It’s a stress level that is hard to describe until you actually live through it.” But keeping the doors open has been a The Mercado has survived, but the question constant challenge. Last summer, Minnesota’s of sustainability remains. fraud scandal and the Trump administration’s “I’m fighting really hard to keep this open,” more stringent funding allocations have made she said. “I’ve been looking into ‘Do I merge sustaining small-town nonprofits exponentialwith another organization?’ I’ve talked to ly more difficult. everybody in town. “It was so They’re not intereststressful for me last ed, or they can’t, or summer into all the they wouldn’t.” way until NovemShe said she can’t ber when I sent an hire a successor email to all my list because there’s no of people saying money for a salary, ‘We’re not going to and she worries make it. We don’t about what happens have funding,’” when she steps away. Valdecantos said. “I don’t want this “But then people whole initiative, the started responding, nonprofit work, the and I was like, ‘Oh Mercado, to go away,” my, we can survive she said. “I’m still another month.’” looking for who is She said the exthe partner, who do perience taught her I merge with, so I something about make it sustainable desperation. into the future.” “It was such a Through it all, horrible, horrible she’s continued to feeling of powerwrite. - Gina Washburn, retired lawyer lessness. There’s “I just finished the nothing you can novel that I’ve been do. You start thinking crazy stuff,” she said. writing for a long time. I finished it, I think a “I understand so much more why people, out month ago, and now I’m reviewing it to send of desperation, they go into prostitution or it to places,” she said. “That’s so heroic and so amazing that I’ve been able to write in the they rob a bank or try to do fraud or leave

“

She’s been a tireless advocate for the migrant community for many years. She has a boundless imagination of creative and artistic ways to attain visibility and support for the migrant community. She challenges all of us to become more aware and to learn about our migrant neighbors.”

Rice County Neighbors United Executive Director Mar Valdecantos speaks to a group of attendees during a fundraising event Wednesday afternoon at Mercado Local near downtown Northfield. (Colton Kemp — NorthfieldNews.com)

context of all these other things that I’ve been doing.” She described two possible exits from the constant fundraising grind being one of two things: she either wins the Powerball or becomes rich and famous for her writing. “Two very difficult things. But yeah, that’s where I am right now,” she said. She said many people don’t understand the reality of running a nonprofit, especially lately. “This is a nonprofit market,” she said. “The vendors make a profit; the nonprofit doesn’t make a profit. This guy said ‘Oh, I understand. You can really get rich with a nonprofit.’ I was like ‘Oh my! Well, let me know, because it’s just

the opposite right now.’” Valdecantos was venting about the challenges once with a group of Hispanic women in Northfield. “I was saying, ‘Well, maybe I should never have come to the U.S. My life would’ve been very different and maybe calmer,’” she recalled. “One of the women said ‘You not coming? And what would we have done without you?’” n Reach Associate Editor Colton Kemp at 507-6451115. © Copyright 2026 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Southern Minn Profiles 2026 | Page 18

American Family Insurance Agent Matt Petsinger and his wife Becky make for an inseperable “tag team” committed to community service. (Andrew Deziel - WasecaCountyNews.com)

Waseca insurance agent committed to giving back to community

s a Waseca County native who was raised in the countryside southwest of town, wrestled at NRHEG and later at Minnesota State University-Mankato and followed in the footsteps of his father to work at Brown Printing, Matt Petsinger’s local roots run deep. In his youth, Petsinger made a name for himself as a wrestler with dominant strength and power. In his High School career he smashed one program record after another, racking more than 170 wins and 130 falls and twice placing as the state runner up.

ANDREW DEZIEL andrew.deziel@apgsomn.com His career at the collegiate level was no less illustrious. A four time All-American, he finished third at nationals as a freshman, junior and sophomore before winning the NCAA II title. For his accomplishments, he was elected in 2016 to the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame. When his time on the mat finally came to a close, Petsinger went back to a quiet job at Brown, where his dad worked for decades as a pressroom mechanic. With hard work, skill and tenacity, he managed to work his way up to being a folder operator. Petsinger’s life changed when he met his wife Becky, and the two soon became and remain inseparable. Devout Catholics, they were united in marriage at Waseca’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church, but soon moved down to Iowa to pursue professional opportunities.

In Iowa, Petsinger brought the skills he’d learned at Brown Printing to a variety of jobs, serving as a shop foreman and even coming back one summer to help lay fiber optic cables locally. Of course, he soon found himself as an assistant wrestling coach at local High Schools. With the arrival of sons Michael and Mitchell, the Petsingers began to look for an opportunity to return closer to home so they could see extended family more often. He soon filled out an application to become a local insurance agent with American Family and was accepted. Now in his ninth year as a local agent, Petsinger has brought his trademark tenacity to the job, not only by providing award winning service to his clients but to use the agency’s platform and resources to enrich and support the community. In 2024, Petsinger received American Fam-

ily’s Minnesota Community Impact Award. Speakers highlighted his active involvement at Sacred Heart and with the Knights of Columbus, as well as his support of local athletic programs and the Waseca Marching Classic. To help support local athletes, Petsinger also incorporated That One Place Athletics as a nonprofit. Located in the basement of his building at the heart of downtown, That One Place Athletics provides a space to hone skills in sports such as boxing and wrestling. However, it’s the wildly popular Christmas Time at The Mill that became Petsinger’s signature community service initiative. He said the idea emerged out of a conversation he had with Robert Tackett, who at the time was working with the agency. Realizing that at the time, families had to pony up if they wanted a professional quality

“

Page 19 | Southern Minn Profiles 2026

Waseca is a great community, and you try to do what you can to help it grow and publicize how wonderful the community is. Some things you can really see up front, and some things you don’t see.” - Matt Petsinger

photo of their kids with Santa even though modern smartphones could take such a photo, Petsinger and Tackett set about to create a free event where families could meet Santa. Initially called “Pictures with Santa,” the event was initially scheduled for Friday evening but was disrupted by a blizzard and moved to Saturday. Despite the last minute change, it still managed to attract a large crowd, with 175 people coming out to The Mill to meet Santa for free. The event returned the next year and steadily grew year after year. It was soon renamed Christmas Time at The Mill, in recognition of what had become an incredibly smooth and collaborative partnership between Petsinger’s Agency and The Mill. With support from generous local donors, businesses and groups, from Owatonna HyVee to the Waseca Area Neighborhood Service Center, Christmas Time at The Mill has been able to offer families more without charging families a dime, so that everyone can enjoy it. “That’s been our main goal for Christmas Time, to not ask for any money or anything the day of the event,” Petsinger said. “Everyone should be able to enjoy the Christmas spirit.” Last year, Christmas Time at The Mill was incorporated as its own 501c4 nonprofit entity, which Petsinger said would allow it to do

significantly more advertising and fundraising. The nonprofit also has the flexibility to support other community events, like concerts at The Mill. For the Petsinger family, service to the community has become a way of life. Like her husband, Becky Petsinger is deeply involved at Sacred Heart and has played a key role in reviving the local Cub Scout Pack 86, one of the oldest in the state, post-COVID. “This really is a tag team thing,” Petsinger said. “I wouldn’t be able to be involved in everything I’m involved in if it wasn’t for her, she wouldn’t be able to be involved with everything she’s in if it wasn’t for me.” Already, that sense of service and altruism can be seen in the efforts of Matt and Becky’s children. In addition to their involvement with scouting, the two oldest, Michael and Mitchell, are actively involved with programming at the church. As part of Christmas Time at The Mill, Michael started up his own initiative, Michael’s Toys to Give, collecting toys from kids that they are not using any more. He then gives them out to kids who may be in need of a free toy at Christmas Time at The Mill. For Petsinger, the commitment to service is deeply intertwined not only with his faith but also a deep sense of local pride. Truly con-

vinced that Waseca is an extraordinary place, he said he wants to do everything he can to help the community grow and succeed. “Waseca is a great community, and you try to do what you can to help it grow and publicize how wonderful the community is,” Petsinger said. “Some things you can really see

up front, and some things you don’t see.” n Andrew Deziel is a reporter for the APG Southern Minnesota Newspaper Group. Reach him at 507-333-3133. © Copyright 2026 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.

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