SoMinn Women of Influence 2026 by Kate Noet

Women of Influence

Farmamerica Executive Director Jessica Rollins and Program Coordinator Kari Wadd enjoy trying out the photo/video booth at Farmamerica’s Raise a Toast event. (Andrew Deziel - WasecaCountyNews.com)

Robinson stands at the back of the Le Center Ambulance. On calls, she’s often the EMT in the back while another volunteer drives in the front. (Carson HughesLeSueurCountyNews.com)

Built by Women: The strength behind Southern Minnesota

ANNIE HARMAN annie.harman@apgsomn.com

In Southern Minnesota, power doesn’t always announce itself with a spotlight. It shows up early, stays late and quietly keeps entire communities moving forward. It’s in the boardrooms and the classrooms, the hospital corridors and the small business storefronts, the nonprofit offices and the farms stretching toward the horizon. Here, women aren’t just participating in the fabric of daily life, they’re weaving it, reinforcing it and, when necessary, reimagining it altogether. If you’re looking for the engine behind the region’s resilience and growth, you don’t have to look far — you just have to start noticing who’s getting things done. They are executives and

entrepreneurs turning bold ideas into sustainable livelihoods. They are educators shaping not just minds, but futures. They are healthcare professionals balancing science with compassion, policymakers translating community needs into action, and artists and advocates ensuring culture and connection don’t get left behind. Their work spans industries and identities, but a common thread runs through it all: a deep-rooted commitment to making their communities stronger, smarter and more inclusive than they found them. What makes this collective force so remarkable isn’t just what they do — it’s how they do it. With grit and grace, with humor and humility, and often without the recognition they deserve, these women are redefining leadership in ways that feel both grounded and revolutionary.

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Stacy Hunt

St. Peter Mayor Shanon Nowell is being featured as a keynote speaker at the Women Celebrating Women banquet. The theme of the year is shaping a sustainable future. (Carson Hughes — StPeterHerald.com)

Southern Minnesota doesn’t just benefit from their presence. It depends on it.

One of our very own local women recently said it best.

“History has shown us when the world gets loud, women get to work,” said Stacy Hanson, owner of Grapeful Wine Bar in downtown Owatonna, during the recent Owatonna Business Women 54th annual Woman of Achievement event. As the 2025 recipient of the prestigious award, Hanson not only had the honor of bestowing this year’s award to Federated Insurance’s Annie Priebe, but also served as the keynote speaker this year, encouraging the room full of women to never stop achieving.

“I hope you keep asking what’s next, because in that curiosity, that’s where the magic happens,” she said. “This award is something that you don’t set on a shelf. It is actually a spark to your fire. It is the proof that while you’ve already done so much, you still have so much left to do. You’re just getting started.”

The 100-plus-year-old Owatonna Business Women is not the only organization in Southern Minnesota that celebrates and empowers women.

In St. Peter, Women Celebrating Women have been naming an award recipient since 2004 to celebrate and recognize a St. Peter area woman who has achieved notable distinction in their field of interest or profession, proven

Kelly Minter Speaker Faith Eury Cho Speaker Sharon Hodde Miller Speaker

Dan Mansfield Worship

Pilar Stier was sworn in as the new Le Sueur Chief of Police and first Latina chief of police in the state of Minnesota in 2023. (Carson Hughes - LeSueurCountyNews.com)

Faribault Foundation Executive Director Laura Bock is a former Faribault Rotarian of the Year for her commitment to the club’s Service Above Self motto. (File photoFaribault.com)

Alyssa Herzog-Melby, right, presents Northfield Rotary Club’s Good Neighbor award to Mar Valdecantos, left. (Photo courtesy of Northfield Rotary)

After 55 years of advocacy, Sandy Boss went from coaching the very first gymnastics team at Owatonna to getting a gym exclusively for gymnasts. She was the first woman coach and the first salaried coach in the Owatonna district, and is applauded for bringing girls sports to the school district.(File photo - Owatonna.com)

to be a leader in the community, demonstrated service and commitment to the community, and inspires others. And it doesn’t stop there.

Women in Northfield Giving Support is a charitable organization that supports various community projects. For example, they provide an annual grant to the HOPE Center and the Community Action Center for a program supporting domestic violence survivors.

In Faribault, the Faribault Foundation Women Who Care Endowment designates May a month of tribute to women — an opportunity to pause, appreciate and celebrate the incredible women in your life who have shaped who you are. To

date, $53,000 has been raised. The goal is to build the endowment to $200,000 and then begin making grants to benefits women and girls.

And while all these groups serve as a shining light for women in the region, there are even more women who silently make a difference every day without recognition or celebration.

In Waseca, Farmamerica’s Jessica Rollins (executive director) and Kari Wadd (program coordinator) have established significant growth for the 360-acre outdoor museum and educational center, dedicated to preserving and promoting the state’s agricultural history and future.

Aimee Robinson is the current director

of the Le Center Volunteer Ambulance, which recently began offering life-saving CPR trainings as a licensed training site.

Leaving an important mark in history, Le Sueur’s Pilar Stier is the first Latina to be the chief of a police department. She has also launched community initiatives to build public trust in law enforcement, particularly with the Spanish-speaking community.

And reaching every corner of Southern Minnesota, Benya Kraus recently took over the reins as president of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. But prior to this important role, Kraus founded Lead For America, a national non-profit, non-partisan service program that

Benya Kraus, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s next President and CEO pictured in downtown Waseca. (Photo courtesy of SMIF)

St. Peter’s St. Patrick’s Day Queen Rose Rustman visited Le Center for the holiday parade. (Carson Hughes — LeSueurCountyNews.com)

places young leaders in paid, one-to-two-year fellowships within their own hometowns or states.

Truth be told, there is not enough paper in the news industry to detail all of the amazing women who have made profound and lasting impacts in our communities. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pause for a moment or two and take the time to recognize that Southern Minnesota is what it is today because of the women who brought us here, who keep us going and who will carry us further into the future.

So what do we do with that truth? We say it out loud. We write it down. We teach it to the next generation so they don’t grow up wondering if there’s a place for them at the table — they grow up knowing they can build their own table if need be. Recognition isn’t just a pat on the back, it’s a signal. It tells every young girl watching from the sidelines, every woman quietly doing the work, that what they bring to their communities matters. And always has.

And maybe more importantly, we keep paying attention. Not just during award ceremonies or designated months of tribute, but on the ordinary Tuesdays when the real work happens. We notice the leadership that doesn’t always come with a title, the innovation that doesn’t always make headlines, and the care that holds everything together when no one is watching. Because that’s where the true story of Southern Minnesota lives: in the steady, determined rhythm of women who show up, step up and lift others along the way. Because if history has shown us anything, it’s that when the world gets loud, women don’t just get to work — they get results. And here in Southern Minnesota, that quiet power isn’t just shaping the present. It’s building a future that’s stronger, more connected and ready for whatever comes next.

Soulstice Boutique Owner Elizabeth Spaulding stands in her store in downtown Northfield. Spaulding was named the 2025 Businessperson of the Year by the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism. (Colton Kemp — NorthfieldNews.com)

Alliance for Greater Equity Board Chair Rebecca Moore and Vice Chair Martha Sykes. (Annie Harman — Owatonna. com)

Paradise Center for the Arts Executive Director Julie Fakler stands in a gallery alongside her portraits of pets at the Paradise, where she’s been involved since 2009. (Colton Kemp - Faribault.com)

Susan Hacker, the owner of Lily of the Valley, a clothing store in downtown Faribault, holds up the shirt design she put together for a 2024 fundraiser. (Colton KempFaribault.com)

Robin Warburton of Janesville poses next to her woodcarving of a crappie. Warburton has had her wildlife woodwork featured in numerous galleries across Minnesota. (Carson Hughes - SouthernMinn.com)

Waseca County’s own Madti Johnson has launched her own one-woman junk removal service that can clear out almost any mess. (Andrew Deziel — WasecaCountyNews.com)

Stacy Hanson presents Annie Priebe with the 2026 Woman of Achievement award from Owatonna Business Women. Hanson was the 2025 recipient and this year’s keynote speaker at the 54th annual event. (Photo courtesy of Aaron Guzman Photography)

Women Celebrating Women puts silent leaders in the history books

Inspiring Hope and Possibility. This was the theme of the very first Women Celebrating Women event held on March 25, 2004. Women Celebrating Women was the dream of Peggy Carlson who served as the publisher of the St. Peter Herald from 1995-2009. She knew that there were women in St. Peter who were actively contributing to the St. Peter community by dedicating their time and talents in their churches, social clubs, schools, and other areas, often quietly and without recognition.

Peggy gathered a team of women and together they got to work on creating what is now Women Celebrating Women. The purpose of the organization is to celebrate and recognize St. Peter area women who have achieved notable distinction in their field of interest or profession, proven to be a leader in the community, demonstrated service and commitment to the community, and inspired others.

The first recipient of the award in 2004 was Marilyn Rundell. Since then,Rose Rustman, Keri

Johnson, Thalia Taylor, Margie Nelson, Shari Pell Brostrom, Marie Dranttel, Peggy Carlson, Linda Nelsen, Lisa Gault, Gretchen Koehler, Michelle Zehnder Fischer, Judy Scholl, Carol Moline, Rosemary Mickelson, Harriet Mason, Elsa Cornell, Carol Menk, Colleen Spike and Marilyn Witty were honored and added to St. Peter’s history books as women of distinction.

The event has been held annually (with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic). Recipients are nominated by friends, family or co-workers through an online nomination form or writing nominations submitted at the St. Peter Chamber of Commerce Office.

Each year a new theme is chosen based on the theme from the official Women’s History Month organization. The event, held each March, includes a dinner, keynote speaker and the announcement of the Women’s Celebrating Women recipient.

Peggy Carlson passed away in 2018, and her dream lives on in each event which continues to inspire hope and possibility.

To learn more about Women Celebrating Women, like and follow their Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/saintpeterareawomencelebratingwomen

Submitted by Women Celebrating Women organization.

Dr. Annette Parker, past President of South Central College gave the keynote address at the event in 2025.

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