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CLASS NOTES
1973
Gary Anderson and Judy (Haats) Anderson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 14, 2023. They met on the first day when freshmen arrived on campus, then graduated four years later with bachelor degrees. They currently live in Clear Lake, and are enjoying retirement by traveling the world.
Wayne and Warren Cook received the Distinguished Service Award at the Minnesota Baseball Hall of Fame banquet in St. Cloud this September. They were recognized for their combined 90 years of umpiring baseball.
1976
Sanford “Sandy” Gruhn retired from K&B Transportation on July 15, 2022 after 37 years in the truckload transportation industry. Sandy enjoyed his first year of retirement by spending time with his six grandchildren, volunteering with his church and taking a trip to Spain and Portugal this past spring.
1992
Karen (Helsinger) DeGreeff married Joe DeGreeff on February 2, 2022. She works at Sleep Number as a Software Test Engineer.
Bob Klatt was inducted into the United States Bowling Congress Twin Cities Association Hall of Fame on October 29, 2023 for meritorious service. Klatt was recognized for “above the ordinary contributions to the betterment and enhancement of bowling.”
1993
Lisa Maurer has been selected to serve as the new Director of Mission Integration and Formation of Duluth Benedictine Ministries. Sister Lisa began her new role on July 5, 2023. In this new role, Sister Lisa will lead collaborative efforts with ministry leadership to ensure the awareness and legacy of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery. Additionally, she will work with each ministry to further its identity as a ministry of the Catholic Church. Her work will focus in the areas of Benedictine legacy and sponsorship, Catholic identity, and theological and spiritual formation.
Tonia (Clow) Bohnen was elected President of South Carolina State P.E.O. This is a philanthropic organization of over 200,000 women dedicated to promoting women’s education through scholarships, loans and grants.
1997
Mark Arkell was honored posthumously with inducation into the Red Rock Central First Hall of Fame.
2000
Trent Redfield started a new position as a staff librarian at the West Yellowstone Public Library in West Yellowstone, Montana in May of 2023.
2003
Amy (Davis) LaDue is a recipient of the 2023 Richard Green Scholar Award. She presented her research, “Leading Leaders: Helping Principals Grow,” at the 2023 MASA Fall Conference on October 9-10, 2023 in Duluth.
Rebecca Morin completed the Chicago Marathon on October 8, 2023 with an impressive time of 3:39:10. Her finish time qualified her for the Boston Marathon in 2025.
2006
Josh Beninga was recently elected President of the Minnesota Association of County Veterans Service Officers (MACVSO). Josh graduated from SMSU with a BA in Psychology and a criminal justice minor. He is an Army veteran who attended college after service, deployed to Iraq in 2003.
2007
Michele (Tomschin) Rowell and Christopher Rowell ’05 welcomed a son, Andrew Michael, to their family on August 27, 2022.
2009
Jim Nelson won two Emmy Awards for his work as a news reporter at WOIO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio.
2012
Katie (Vermeer) Bobbin started a new position in January 2023 as Director of Brand, Culture, and Communications at Benaiah Co.
Amanda (Meine) Lang started a new position in June 2023 with Brown County as the Assistant Zoning Administrator/Assistant Emergency Management Director.
Erin (Weller) Hilby and her husband, Keaton Hilby, welcomed their first child, Kaden, in April 2023.
2013
Shelby Juve became part owner and VP of her family business, JNR Adjustment Company, on September 15, 2023 alongside her sister and brother-in-law.
Mary (Groth) Buyan welcomed her second child, Walker David Buyan, on May 28, 2023.
2014
Kristina (Honken) Howie and her husband, Kenton Howie, welcomed their daughter, Kinzey, in May of 2021 and recently adopted a two-year-old boy, Kaiden (born June 2021).
2018
Nikolay “Nick” Ivanov completed his PhD at Michigan State University with a Certification in College Teaching in May 2023. In September 2023, he started his job as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.
2020
Selina (McCool-Kamstra) Schmitz married Zakk Schmitz ’22 on August 13, 2022.
Angela (Young) Lee married Michael Lee ’19, on November 26, 2022.
2022
Levi Magnuson, graduate student at North Dakota State University, presented his research on Eugenics at the Nothern Great Plains History Conference.
In Memoriam
Keigh Hubel: September 8, 2023. Professor of Education 1969-1994
James Hanson ’72: September 20, 2023
Karla Faye Johnson ’04: October 3, 2023
Steven Roland Polkow ’71: October 31, 2023
Dr. Thomas Dilley: November 15, 2023. Professor of Environmental Science, 1999-2023
Dennis Jensen ’71: November 16, 2023
