Try five inches.

Scott Wahlberg, curator of the Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, N.D., watched as I approached the cage of Lee, a 400-pound male African lion lounging comfortably on his perch 15 feet away. To get a decent photograph, I knelt down and put my camera lens even with the bars to get an unobstructed view. After focusing, I shifted my eyes a fraction of a second to check the aperture.

In a lightning burst, Lee charges across the cage (a lion chasing prey can cover the length of a football field in six seconds), pounding the bars with a deafening roar, yellow stiletto teeth and claws flailing at me.

The heat from his breath still hot on my face, I quickly realized this isn’t Disney’s cuddly Lion King, Simba.

“I told you he had a temper,” said Wahlberg, a 1995 MSUM biology major who specializes in big cats and primates at the Roosevelt Park Zoo.

Preserving primal terror: just another reason to support zoos.

Lee, like most exotic animals in modern zoos, wasn’t born in the wild. He was genetically selected through the Species Survival Plan.

Sponsored by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the SSP is a cooperative scientifically controlled and managed breeding program used as a hedge against extinction, creating a genetically diverse and demographically stable population of selected wildlife species for the nation’s zoos.

Lee, for example, was born 14 years ago from selected mates and came to Minot from the Buffalo Zoological Gardens in New York.
Kind of like well managed Jurassic Parks or Noah’s arks, zoos today aren’t just for family entertainment.

“They’re also very much about preservation and conservation,” Wahlberg said, ”and about educating the public about the extinction of wildlife and the destruction of their environment. It’s just too complicated, expensive and unnecessary to take exotic animals from the wild anymore.”
AZA’s nearly 200-member zoos attract more than 136 million visitors annually, more than the combined attendance at all of America’s pro baseball, basketball, hockey and football games. That’s quite a classroom.

Tarren Wagener, conservation science manager at the Fort Worth Zoo, coordinates the SSP’s African lion studbook, which includes 33 female and 37 male lions. The studbook lists the family lineage of her 60 genetically pure lions, including birth dates, sires, locations, transfers and other pertinent data.

But it’s still just a start, representing only about one-tenth of the 600 African lions now in North American zoos.

“If an AZA accredited zoo, for example, wants a lion now, they call Wagener, who selects two potential mates from member zoos and coordinates the breeding process,” Wahlberg said. “It’s a cooperative program that ensures that zoos get healthy animals with pure bloodlines.“

Fewer than 21,000 lions roam the wilds of African now, a number dwindling fast due to expansion of human activity and domestic livestock. Virtually all of them are in reserves.

“What people often don’t realize,” he said, “is that zoos also play a major part in contributing to preservation and research in habitat preservation.”

So far, 161 individual species are managed by the SSP. And Wahlberg was recently selected to manage the studbook for Canada Lynx.

“It’s a big deal for me, with just seven years of zoo keeping experience,” he said. “It’s especially neat because I have such a passion for big cats.”

Wahlberg, a Minot native, started working part time at the Roosevelt Park Zoo as a high school junior. After a year playing football for the Minot State Beavers, he transferred to MSUM to study biology.

“I took school seriously then, and for me there wasn’t time for football because of all the labs,” he said.

He did, however, start power lifting as a hobby. Walhberg still holds a North Dakota bench press record of 405 pounds??coincidentally about the weight of an adult male lion??for his weight class.

After graduating from MSUM in 1995, he took a part-time position with the Roosevelt Zoo that summer before moving to the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls, S.D., for the winter. By spring, a full-time zookeeper job opened in Minot, and he’s been there ever since.

Today the 31-year-old father of two is the zoo’s curator, essentially second in command, overseeing the daily operations of the 20-acre facility. With more than 200 animals and seven full-time employees (five zookeepers), the Roosevelt Park Zoo attracts from 70,000 to 100,000 visitors each summer and operates on a budget of $474,000.

“I learned zoo keeping through experience,” he said. “A lot of it’s just common sense, like making sure cages and gates are locked, animals are fed properly and cages are sanitized. I can’t imagine doing anything else. There’s never a day when I don’t want to go to work.”

His daily routine varies. Besides overseeing 15 part-time summer workers, his duties range from ordering all supplies and animal food to planting grass. One of his biggest challenges is trying to ship primates via the airlines, which takes hours of phone calls.

What he likes most, of course, is dealing with his cats, primates and the zoo’s two big Alaskan Brown Bears.

Wahlberg has been bitten, scratched and kicked, and last summer had to wrestled an alligator to move it. But he’s never been seriously hurt.

“I don’t go into the cages with the big cats,” he said. “There’s no need to. We’ll call the vet to tranquilize them if we need to. Otherwise, these animals are basically killers by nature, so why take the chance. I wish I had time to work with them more, train them maybe. But at a small zoo like ours, there’s never enough time.”

He starts most days by releasing his cats from their nightly indoor cages into their outside exhibition area. The lions, leopards and tigers are matched in male-female pairs and have plenty of space to roam, each species matched with a suitable habitat.

“We use USDA and AZA guidelines on space requirements for our animals,” he said. “The bigger the better.”

Like most paired exotic animals in zoos, the cats are either vasectomized or on birth control to prevent unwanted offspring.

But it’s territory these animals need as much as space. And as soon as these cats are let out, watch out. The marking begins, and it’s not unusual to have one spray a zookeeper.

“What sometimes happens in the morning is that one of the lions will lick up the other’s urine, which stimulates a gland in their nasal passages. When the air crosses that gland, it gives the cat an extrasensory sense of smell for communication. Kind of disgusting though.”

Then the cats settle down. Lions, for example, typically sleep 20 hours a day, in the wild or in captivity.

At night, all the big cats?two African lions, two Bengal tigers, two African leopards and two snow leopards??along with the two bears, are locked down to protect them and any park intruders. In the winter, when the zoo is closed, they all have the option of roaming outside in their exhibition space. “When it’s a sunny 20 degrees and not windy, sometimes the lions will come out. But not when it’s 20 below.”

His cats have individual personalities. Both lions have bad tempers, and the female runs the roost. One Bengal tiger is nippy, the other likes to be scratched behind the ears like a house cat.

“You can’t relax or let down your guard when you’re around them,” he said. “We have tranquilizers and kill guns on the premises in case something ever happens. We also have contingency plans set up with the local police and vet. There are three locked gates between all the dangerous animals and the outside, which we double- and triple-check every time we close them. ”

He also takes close care of two sets of apes, both Gibbons, who play with each other most of the day (the difference between monkeys and apes: apes don’t have tales). And his two Alaskan Brown Bears.

“The bears are small now, about 500 pounds each,” he said. “But when they’re full grown they’ll top 1,000 pounds. You can’t get very close to them either. Given the chance, they’ll reach outside their cages and grab at you. One of them can easily snatch a big metal bucket and crunch it through the bars.”

Feeding the animals is extremely regulated. “We get inspected four times a year by the USDA and the AZA comes every five years for an accreditation inspection,” he said.

The zoo’s kitchen is spotless stainless steel. “We don’t feed the animals anything we wouldn’t eat,” Wahlberg said. “No rotten fruit or meats. The better their nutrition is, the more active and healthy the animals are.”

It can cost as much as $2,500 a year to feed a single lion, which eats 10 pounds of food a day.

The big cats mostly eat processed horse meat shipped in pre-packed five-pound tubes. The other animals—ranging from wart hogs and camels to kangaroos and camels—eat palletized foods, alfalfa and other grains and grasses. And of course there’s herring for the penguins, who are fed three times a day.

All the zoo’s animal waste products are collected and dropped in a special compost pile in the city’s landfill.

“We also buy 80 tons of hay a year from local farmers,” he said. “That’s just one reason why we don’t have an elephant here. A single elephant, for example, requires at least 100 tons of hay a year.”

Historically, zoos started as the personal playpens of the wealthy soon after the dawn of civilization. Although the first American zoo opened in 1874 in Philadelphia, they didn’t became popular in American cities in the early 1900s as explorers pioneered the jungles, savannas and rain forests of the world. But they weren’t viewed as refuges for endanger specials and as reproductive labs to rebuild threatened ones until the 1950s.

The Minot Zoo opened in 1920 with a single animal, a male bison from Montana. It now features more than 200 animals, including feline, children’s and North American exhibits. This summer a new river otter exhibit opens.

Bringing wild animals into concrete jungles has always been a compromise between science and showmanship.

Today, zoos are increasingly battling a public relations war against some individuals and groups that view them as cruel, antiquated institutions that imprison animals.

Criticism would better be aimed at the real predators in the wild animal industry: the roadside menageries, the underground exotic pet trade and private hunting ranches that are the real contributors in the abuse and unregulated proliferation of wild animals.

Big cats are so common in the United States now that there may be more pet tigers in Texas alone than survive in the wild throughout the world.

“Zoos have to be realistic in their efforts to convince visitors to appreciate wildlife,“ Wahlberg said. “Lions aren’t native to Minot, for example. But big cats are what people like to see. It draws them in. Once we get them here, that’s when the education part starts. Meanwhile, we do everything we can to make life as normal as possible for all our animals.”

Is there something you want to share with your classmates?  Did you get a new job? A promotion? Start your own company? Take a great trip? Do you have an interesting hobby? Did you just get married or move to a new city?  Let us know! To submit information to Alumnotes just e-mail it to alumni@mnstate.edu and tell us it’s for Alumnotes, or mail it to Alumnotes, MSUM Box 68, Moorhead, MN 56563.

‘30s
Vivian Jacobson ’34 and ‘62 (elem ed) lives in her lake home near Frazee, MN, where she still entertains on the piano!

‘40s
Irma Vanderhoef Allen ’42 (English/music) lives in Wadena, MN, where she gives private piano lessons, directs two handbell choirs, serves as church organist and plays the piano for Rotary.  She would like to hear from other 1942 MSTC music majors.

Betty Maunamaki Lake ’49 (elem ed) is a foster grandparent volunteer assisting children with reading activities, in Sabeka, MN.

Bernice Reller Horack ’49 (elem ed) and her husband, Henry, live in Waubun, MN. After teaching for 50 years, Bernice is now retired, but says she is busier now than when she was working.

‘50s
Richard Malakowsky ’50 (indus ed) is now retired after teaching for 35 years in inner city schools in Phoenix, AZ. He now lives in Sun City, AZ, during the winter and spends his summers at Floyd Lake and Ada, MN.

Chuck Warner, ’51 (English/social studies) recently received the Minnesota State High School Athletic Administrator’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He writes a weekly newspaper column in Brownton, MN, where he lives.

Merla Pansch Freng ’54 (elem ed) ’56 (music) is a retired teacher. She and her husband, Bernie, spend winter in Texas and summer in Ortonville, MN.

Janice Stoffel ’54 (music/English) lives in Fargo, ND, where she teaches music, journalism and English by distance education.

Jack ’55 (phy ed/soc st) ’65 (MS, Health) and Ruth Beck ’55 (elem ed) Wilcox live in Latham, NY. Jack is a courier for a pathology lab and Ruth works for the NY State Society of CPA’s.

Philip ’56 (elem ed) and Jeannine Johnson ’58 (elem ed) Kiltie and retired educators now living in Alexandria, MN, when the weather’s nice, and in Apache Junction, AZ, in the winter.

‘60s
Lynne Anderson ’60 (biol) lives in Riverside, CA, where she is a faculty member at the San Bernardino Campus of National University.

William ’61 (math) and Cheryl Johnson ’59 (elem ed) Jacobson are retired and living in Clear Lake, MN.

Barbara Floyd ’61 (biol) lives in Phoenix, AZ, where she is publisher of The Country Register, an internationally known specialty newspaper that she founded in 1988. Check it out at www.countryregister.com.

Alton Fiskness ’63 (math) received the master of arts degree in the history of Christianity from Luther Seminary on Sunday, May 25. He lives in New London, MN, with his wife, Carolyn.

Jacqueline Benson Anton ’63 (phy ed) lives on Leaf Lake (near Detroit Lakes, MN) with her husband, Rodney. After 20+ years in California she says they don’t miss the traffic and they love the snow!

Marlyn ’64 (speech comm.) and Margaret Antrim ’64 (speech) Kruschke are retired from teaching and live on Ottertail Lake in Minnesota.

Gary ’64 (indust ed) Marie Schwankl ’64 (elem ed) Skunberg, live in White Bear Lake, MN. Gary just retired after 39 years teaching industrial arts and Marie is a teacher with the Maplewood North St. Paul Schools.

Sonny Lange ’66 (bus ed) ’76 (bus admin) lives in Aurora, CO, where he recently retired from a distinguished civilian and military career.

Judy Bigham ’67 (elem ed) works for Verizon Northwest in Seattle, WA, where she lives with her husband, Donald, and their daughters.

Melba Majava Hensel ’67 (math) ’70 (biol) spent the very first Earth Day (1970) at MSUM. She became interested in the environment then and has been involved ever since! She and her husband, John, live in Minneapolis, MN, where Melba is an environmental scientist.

Susan Affeldt Peck ’68 (SLHS) is a speech/language pathologist for Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative. She lives in Chanhassen, MN, with her husband, Robert.

Candace Dahl Malm ’69 (HPE) ’97 (ed. admin) live in Park Rapids, MN, where Candace is the director of special education.

Bill ’69 (HPE) and Lin Andersen ’69 (elem ed) Germann live in Shorewood, MN. Bill and Lin are teachers for the Eden Prairie School District.
 

‘70s
Rod Halvorson ’71 (bus admin) has worked as a legislator, manager and businessman for the past 30 years. He is currently living in St. Paul, MN, where he is the executive director of the Minnesota Social Service Association.

JoAnn Evavold ’71 (elem ed) lives in Brandon, MN, with her husband, Duffy. After teaching in Alaska for most of her career, she retired and moved back to Minnesota in 1998.

Roger Denton ’72 (indus ed) is the vice president of Human Resources for Centex Rodgers, Inc, the nation’s premier healthcare constructor. He lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife, Jean Hurley.

Beatrice Utke ’72 (elem ed) taught elementary school for 10 years in Minnesota, Montana and Wyoming, mostly on reservations. She lives in Lander, WY, with her husband, Timothy, where she says she loves the mountains, people and climate.

Sharon Larson Cleveland ’73 (mktg) is district manager of North Florida for JC Penney. She lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, with her husband, Stewart, and their son.

Barbara Davison ’74 (elem ed) teaches for West Central Area Schools. She and her husband, Brent, live in Tintah, MN, with their three children. Their son, Chad, plays football for the MSUM Dragons!

Joe Harvala ’74 (HPE) is VP/claims manager for Western National Assurance. He and his wife, Pamela, have been living in the Seattle, WA, area, but are looking forward to returning to Minnesota to build a log home.

Wendy Amundson ’76 (theater) was the writer of five award-winning communications projects at the May, 2003, Women in Communications Crystal Clarion Awards Banquet, which honors excellence in all fields of Communication. Amundson Communications has been providing writing services to a broad range of Twin Cities businesses and organizations since 1987.

Gayle Cossette Highness ’76 (mass comm.) was ordained a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on June 29. She has accepted a call to serve as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Nauvoo, IL.

George Soule ’76 (pol sci/econ), managing partner and a founding partner of Bowman and Brooke LLP, was honored by the Minnesota State Bar Association Civil Litigation Section with this year’s “Advocate’s Award.” The award was given in recognition of his tireless efforts as Chair of the Minnesota Commission on Judicial Selection for Governor Jesse Ventura and his ongoing involvement in the MSBA. George is a member of the board of directors of the MSUM Alumni Foundation.

Bradley Ballweber ’78 (vo-tech ed) just celebrated his 25th anniversary with Northern Improvement Company, where he serves as vice president/treasurer and Bismarck area manager. He lives in Bismarck, ND, with his wife, Claudia, and their family.

Jeanne Fischer Hanson ’78 (mktg) is a marketing consultant for Wells Fargo, where she has worked since graduation. She lives in Maple Grove, MN, with her husband, Jeff.

David Wold ’79 (mktg) is an information systems manager for The St. Paul Companies. He lives in St. Paul, MN, with his wife, Tracy, and their two children.

Margaret Spiekermeier Sauer ’79 (soc wk) is a social worker and minister for the Department of Social and Health Services of Washington. She lives in Nine Mile Falls, WA, with her husband Mike and their two daughters.

‘80s
M. Chris Gerving ’80 (soc wk) is a social worker for Med Center One Health Systems in Bismarck, ND, where she lives with her husband, Mark.

Nancy Otting Lougheed ’80 (acctg) is a teacher in Los Fresnos, TX. She and her husband, Dean, live in Rio Hondo, TX.

Gary (Andy) Anderson ’81 (indiv major) and his wife, Bethany, live in Red Wing, MN, where he is director of IT for Red Wing Shoe Co. The shoe manufacturer is a worldwide distributor with over 6.400 stores and retailers, five factories and a hotel.

Jeff Danielson ’81 (indus tech) is a senior plant engineer for Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group. He lives in Lake Mills, WI, with his wife, Laura, and their two sons.

Joan Greving ’81 (mass comm.) is an account executive with Yellow Book USA. She won a trip to the Bahamas, had her luggage lost for the entire trip, but the vacation was saved because she still had her swimming suit! Joan lives in Fargo, ND, with her husband Dick.

Bruce ’81 (acctg) and Barbara Bird ’81 (soc) Schmidt live in Buffalo, MN, with their three sons.  Bruce is vice president/controller with Sunny Fresh Foods/Cargill; Barbara is an insurance claims specialist at Family Chiropractic. They would love to hear from old friends at schmidt2b@aol.com

Terri Hawkinson ’82 (bus admin) recently received the Mary Martelle Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the quality of campus life, from the University of Minnesota Morris. Terri is an executive administrative specialist in the Division of Social Sciences at UMM.

Kris ’85 (fin) and Stephanie Evans Wernhoff ’82 (econ/fin) live in Shelburne, VT, with their two children. Kris is controller for the Twincraft Soap Company and Stephanie is a vice president at Chittenden Bank.

Christie Ackerson Johnson ’82 (Eng/mass comm.) is a writer and IRA consultant for BISYS Retirement Services. She lives in Baxter, MN, with her husband, Robert, and their two boys.

Douglas Wood ’83 (acctg) is an accountant with ING. He lives in Champlin, MN, with his wife, Lynn.

Launee Lawyer-Hamnes ’84 (soc wk) is a juvenile court officer for the State of North Dakota. Launee, her husband, Bryan, and their son love living in North Dakota’s four-season playground!

Kimberly Kessler Lakeman ’84 (spec ed) lives in Bismarck, ND, where she is vice president of residential services for HIT, Inc. (Housing, Industry & Training).

Beth Lenius Rose ’85 ‘88 (Eng/speech comm.) and her husband, Ted, own Consolidated Body Works in Anchorage, AK, where they live with their boys.

Lana Folk Foss ’85 (elem ed) is a guest teacher in Arizona, but will be moving to Ft. Leavenworth, KS, this summer. She and her husband, Daryl, have two children.

Russ ’86 (fin/int’l bus) and Pam McDaniel ’87 (fin/mgt) Bushman live in Montrose, MN,with their two children. Russ is chief credit officer with Minnwest Corporation; Pam is a systems consultant for Wells Fargo.

Tim Krile ’87 (fin) is president of All Wireless Solutions in Fargo, ND, where he lives. He and his wife, Terry, have two children. Tim was named 2002 Dealer of the Year for being the top Cellular One Sales Producer in Southeaster ND.

Karen Larson ’87 (acctg) works for a CPA firm in the winter and the rest of the year works on the grain farm she and her husband, Jeffrey, own. Their teen-age son plans to attend MSUM! Go Dragons!

Kandace Broberg Shrader ’87 (phys sci) is an at-home-Mom in Clanton, AZ, where she lives with her husband, Rick, and their three boys. She will shortly be returning to work as an exercise physiologist.

Judy Gunderson Morinville ’87 (com health) works for Red Lake County Central Schools. She and her husband, Scott, have three children and live in Brooks, MN.

Julie Massey ’88 (int’l bus) is a Navy Mom living in Yorktown, VA. She and her husband, Lance, have three children and will soon be moving to Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland.

Colleen Island Lachowitzer ’88 (mass comm.) and her husband, Dan (a Bison alum), live in Sioux Falls, SD, where they manage a branch of Holdahl Inc., which distributes Formica products and decoratives. In August they’re expecting their third child. She says “Hi” to all her mid-80’s classmates!

Alice Swanson ’89 (phys edu) is a phy ed teacher for the Moorhead Public Schools. She enjoys the contagious energy of working with 7th and 8th graders. She and her husband, Greg, live in Moorhead, MN.

‘90s
Stephen D. West ’90 (hist) is a school administrator and a doctoral candidate living in Eden Prairie, MN with his wife, Lynnea, and two daughters. He is the head track coach for Burnsville High School.

Jonathan ’89 (comp sci) and Kristi ’90 (English) Angus live in Fergus Falls, MN with their daughter and son. After practicing law for two years, Kristi is now teaching at Fergus Falls Community College and advising the student newspaper. Jon works from home as a software engineer with a Twin Cities company.

Bob ’91 (phys) and Jackelyn Moeller ’90 (English) Jenson live in Detroit lakes, MN, with their three daughters. They moved to Detroit Lakes after living in Chicago and Minneapolis. Jackelyn is a reporter for the Detroit Lakes Tribune and a writer for the Lakes Alive Magazine. Bob is a director/product engineer for a store based in Fergus Falls.

Bonita Coffel Thom ’90 (soc wk) and her husband, Timothy, are eagerly awaiting their fourth child due in October. Bonita and Timothy live in Popular, WI, with their three boys.  Timothy is a chemical engineer and Bonita keeps busy taking care of their boys and volunteers at a church and a local food shelf.

Kristin Lunneborg ’90 (acctg) and her husband, Brad, live in Milnor, ND, with their three children. Kristin has worked as the city auditor for Milnor for 12 years. In her spare time, she volunteers as a Sunday school teacher and serves on two boards working to build a Milnor activity center.

Daniel ’94 (indiv) and Donna Hegle ’91 (comm health) Wagner live in Sheldon, ND, with their two daughters. Donna quit her job to help raise her children and help Dan refurbish and rent or sell houses.

Gloria Larson ’91 (indiv) received her MBA in 1995. Gloria and her husband, Gary, live in Pendleton, OR, where she is Vice President of Patient Care Services at St. Anthony Hospital. They also own a janitorial service. Their three children all live in Montana.

Barb Friedt ’91 (elem ed) and her husband, Greg, live in Boise, ID, with their two children. Barb teaches first grade at Cynthia Mann Elementary School.

Elaine Anderson ’91 (nurs) lives in Moorhead, MN. Elaine is semi-retired working part time as a public health nurse in a variety of situations as needed.

Marcia Paulson ’91 (soc wk) works as the executive director of the YWCA of Fargo-Moorhead. She is currently heading up a capital campaign to build a new emergency shelter for women and children experiencing domestic violence and homelessness.

Jason R. Klein ’91 (fin) and his wife, Terri, live in Hudson, WI, with their new daughter, Alexsa. Jason is the Vice President of Commercial Lending at a bank in the Milwaukee area.

Susan Stalboerger Lingen ’92 (soc wk/crim just) and her husband, Jeff, live in Holland, MN, with their twin sons. Susan works at Pipestone County Family Services. She and Jeff farm and are part owners of a gas station.

Karol Jean Manikkam ’92 (soc wk) graduated and worked as a social worker in many settings in North Dakota, Minnesota, Arizona, Tennessee and Illinois. Carol and her husband, Ramesh, live in Dubuque, IA, where she works as a mentor coordinator at a community center.

Mary Simon ’92 (elem/spec ed) works with the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa as a special education teacher in Onamia, MN.

Ann Swanson Seibel ’93 (art) and her husband, Mike, are enjoying life on the farm in Harvey, ND, with their two small boys. Ann is a stay at home mom, but still finds time to do some graphic design work out of her home.

Steve ’93 (mktg) and Heather Zarling ’93 (SLHS) Scheer live in Kent, WA, with their two daughters. Heather works part time as a speech language pathologist at a local school district and runs a private practice from her home. Steve is a store manager of Sprint PCS.

Stephanie Blad Kath ’93 (elem ed) and her husband, Mel, live in Shakopee, MN with their two active boys.  Stephanie teaches 2nd grade at Shakopee Public Schools. She also teaches aerobics and volunteers in the community.

Mary Lu Dutcher Bjornson ’93 (speech comm) lives with her husband, Greg, and two children in Woodbury, MN.  Mary Lu is a day care provider.  They say they love Woodbury, but miss being “up north.”

Barbara J. Bastian ’93 (mass comm.) and her husband, Brett, live in Princeton, MN, with their two girls. Barbara is a work director for Rural Community Insurance Services  in Anoka, MN. They have lived in Princeton for three years.

Karla Voorhees Overland ’93 (art) lives with her husband, John, and their two children in Brainerd, MN. Karla is part owner of Cherrywood Fabrics, a hand-dyed fabric business, that sells to quilters all over the world.

Nancy Youngberg ’93 (early child ed) lives with her husband, Keith, in Neenah, WI. Nancy recently fulfilled a dream and opened a childcare center on March 31, 2003.

Janet Goodman Muldoon ’93 (nurs) lives in Red Lake Falls, MN with her husband, William. Janet is a certified public health nurse at Polk County Public Health serving in the family health division.

Karen Young ’93 (elem/spec ed) recently moved to Andover, MN. She is an eighth grade teacher at Irondale High School and is getting married in October, 2003.

Bill Ibach ’94 (elem ed) and his wife, Raquel, live in Fargo and are expecting their first child in November. Bill has been teaching 6th grade at Horace Mann Elementary School since 1994. He is also the head Legion baseball coach.

Melinda Lawson Stearns ’94 (bus admin) and her husband, Jeff, live in South Lake Tahoe, CA with their dog. Melinda travels the country training for six ski resorts. Jeff works in the casino industry.

Cathy E. Saele ’94 (crim just) works at Lake Region State College as the head resident director of women halls in Devils Lake, ND. She is also assistant director at the child care center on campus.

Jason Sjostrom ’94 (mktg) is working as a divisional manager of sales at Custom Marketing Company Inc. in West Fargo. He also enjoys spending time with his one-year-old son Caleb.

Carmen Odegaard ’94 (biol) and her husband, Duane Spielman, live in Evansville, MN. Carmen has been a veterinarian since July 1998. Shy says she would love to hear from other MSUM classmates.

Denise Stoppleworth ’95 (mass comm.) was recently named the vice president of The Promersberger Company, an advertising, public relations and marketing agency, in Fargo, ND. Denise will continue to serve as an account manager for several clients as well as being responsible for sales of agency services and other day-to-day company operations.

Frances Ness ’95 (spec ed) teaches special education in the Albert Lea School District in Minnesota. He says he is teaching in his field and loves it.

Eric ’95 (mass comm) and Brenda ’94 (elem ed) Krueger live in Fargo with their two daughters. Eric is a partner at Strata Com, Inc., a Fargo-based software consulting firm. Brenda has been teaching at George Washington Elementary School in Moorhead for eight years.

Gina Stein Anderson ’95 (elem ed) and her husband, Justin, live in Charlotte, NC. Gina is a 5th grade teacher at Providence Day School. They recently wrote a health curriculum dealing with body systems and public health issues named Code Blue.

Angie Dold ’95 (elem ed) and Dustin ’94 (crim just) Schewe live in Northfield, MN, with their two children, Luke and Mackenzie.

Amy Feldick Addington ’95 (hist) and her husband, Jeff, live in Winston Salem, NC and are looking forward to starting a family. Amy is working as a supervisor at Wachovia Bank in Charlotte, NC. She and Jeff enjoy traveling.

Brita Craven ’95 (MA SLHS) lives with her husband, Mike, in Santa Rosa, CA, and their two daughters. Brita is self-employed as a speech language hearing pathologist.

Christin Olson ’97 (hist) is a 7th grade American History teacher in Sauk Rapids, MN. Christin currently lives in St. Cloud.

Barry McCullough ’97 (art) lives with his wife, Sarah, in Coon Rapids, MN. Barry is working as an art director at Tartan Marketing. He says he misses the hallowed halls of MSUM, but not the bad winters!

Trever Quittschreiber ’97 (MS couns/stud aff) and his wife, Teena, moved to Bradenton, FL, in 1997. He is the executive director of a therapeutic foster care agency.

Stacey Johnson ’98 (bus admin) joined Eide Bailly LLP in Fargo, ND as a financial institution compliance associate.

Curtis ’97 (indus tech) and Lana M. ’98 (spec ed) Palmer live in Fergus Falls, MN, with their child. Lana taught special education for three years, but is now a stay at home mom. Curt works for Jenni-O-Foods in Pelican Rapids.  Both say they enjoyed MSUM.

Chad ’98 (biol) and Shanna Bryant ’98 (elem/spec ed) Olschlager live in Fargo. Shanna teaches students with learning disabilities at Discovery Junior High in Fargo. Chad continues to work at Prairie Restorations Inc. in Hawley, MN.

Kristine Nuss ’98 (elem ed) and her husband, Rick, live in Buffalo, MN. Kristine is a teacher at St. Michael Parish and is expecting their first child in mid-October. They are moving into their newly-built home in Buffalo in August.

Lisa Sande ’98 (elem ed) is in her third year of teaching 6th grade at Grace Lutheran School in Fargo and is currently taking graduate classes. Lisa and her husband, Dana, live in Fargo with their two daughters.

Joel ‘93 (fin) and Rosanne ’93 (SLHS) Lysne are enjoying their careers and their three-year-old son, Bret. Rosanne is a speech language pathologist and Joel is a retail banking officer.  They live in Wahpeton, ND.

Karen Belousek ’98 (mass comm) was married in May and became a step mom to a son. She works as a web developer/designer at a large company and lives in Shakopee, MN.

Shari Ellertson ’98 (MS couns and stud aff) is currently pursuing her PhD in educational leadership and policy studies at Iowa State University. She is working with learning communities administration at ISU. Shari and her husband, Anthony, live in Ames, IA.

Nikki Johnson Heiniger ’98 (elem ed) is a first grade teacher in the Grand Island Public School District in Grand Island, NE.

Ryan Sylvester ’98 (MS ed lead and mass comm.) recently accepted a job as community development educator at New York University in lower Manhattan.  His responsibilities include working with 600 residents, 30 resident assistants, 15 learning assistants and two graduate assistants.  Sylvester leaves MSUM after being a resident hall director for two years.

Katie Post ’99 (life sci) lives with her husband, Brian, and their daughter and infant son in Bel Air, MD. She works as a middle school science teacher and a department chair at a school located on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

Michael A. Harmon ’99 (psych) is an air battle manager in the Unites States Air Force. Michael and his wife, Jessica, live in Midwest City, OK with their two sons.

David Cowell ’99 (fin) recently received his Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant designation from The American College based in Pennsylvania. David is associated with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, The Columns Resource Group, in Baxter, MN.

‘00s
Julie Bachman ’00 (elem ed) is a kindergarten teacher at Circle of Life School in White Earth, MN. Julie and her husband, Frank, live in Frazee, MN. Julie says she is lucky to be in a profession where she is helping children realize their full potential.

Trina Lunstrum Volk ’00 (psych) graduated from Pacific University School of Occupational Therapy in May. She was married to her husband, Steve, in December. They live in Forest Grove, OR.

Valerie Nies ’01 (Eng/mass comm.) lives in Bismarck, ND where she works as a marketing specialist for Kadramas, Lee & Jackson, an engineering firm.

Todd Frost ’01 (life sci) lives with his wife, Shannon, in Apple Valley, MN. Todd teaches biology and life science at Eastview High School. He also coaches football and wrestling.

Marian Ogden ’02 (mass comm.) is an executive team leader with Target Corporation in Minot, ND. This summer Marian will be the remodel administrator for the Minot Target as it undergoes construction.

Kersey (’92, theatre) plays the young Dr. David Banner in the new screen adaptation of the Marvel comic book superhero/monster, The Incredible Hulk.

Directed by Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) and starring Nick Nolte as the adult Dr. David Banner, the film also features hard-guy Sam Elliot and Jennifer Connelly (“A Beautiful Mind”).

 Ausie actor Eric Bana (“Black Hawk Down”) plays research scientist Dr. Bruce Banner, who morphs into The Hulk when he’s angry (the transformed not-so-jolly green giant is a computer-generated character).

The movie grossed $62.6 million on its opening weekend this summer at 3,600 theatres and received “Two Thumbs Up” from critics Ebert & Roeper.

It’s a big break into the U.S. film market for Kersey, who’s spent much of the past six years acting in China. But it’s not his first break. Soon after graduating from MSUM a decade ago, he landed a role (as the nasty Alan) on the popular daytime soap “Days of Our Lives,” a recurring role he continued for more than a year.

At MSUM, Kersey (who adopted the stage name to avoid confusion with the other Paul Newman) appeared in about 25 plays and performed three summers with the Straw Hat Players.

He credits former MSUM Theatre Director Del Hansen for urging him to pursue acting with a passion when everyone else suggested he might want to find a backup career.

“Doc (Hansen) always said that if you’re truly an actor, you go out and do it. You just have to take your chances and keep on going.”

Kersey met his future wife in Tibet while filming the hit Chinese movie “Red River Valley” in 1996.

“I was kind of in between jobs then and down to my last dollar when my agent called and asked if I’d be interested in going to China to do this movie titled ‘Red River Valley,’” Kersey said. “With that title, I thought, it must be a sign. So I jumped at the chance.”

During the four months of filming, Kersey traveled all over China, including four days in a hospital with severe stomach pains. “I literally thought I was dying,” he said. “But I also got to ride a horse across the snowy mountains of Tibet and I met the love of my life.”

“I had worked with many foreign actors before,” Ning told a Chinese reporter about the relationship, “but they all seemed like playboys. Paul made me feel as though he was someone I could trust.”

On a Valentine’s Day, the two were married in the same small church near Hollywood where former-President Regan and Nancy tied the knot.

Two years later, the couple reprised their on-screen love affair in “Lovers’ Grief Over the Yellow River,” part of the director Feng Xiaoning’s trilogy on “China Through the Eyes of Foreigners,” which also included “Red River Valley.”

After his debut on “Days of Our Lives,” Kersey appeared in a variety of television shows ranging from “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” to “Diagnosis Murder,” along with the films “Missing Pieces” and “Forbidden Island.”

His audition for “Hulk” was just another day at the office for Kersey. But this one really paid off.

“When I got to the audition, I was told my name wasn’t on the list,” he said. “So I started to leave, but they called me back and gave me a shot.”

Playing a young Nick Nolte was a challenge. “It’s intimidating playing another person, especially one you’re working with. So I went back and watched Mr. Nolte in a 1970s film he did called ‘The Deep’ to try  to capture the essence of him.”

Besides imitating Nolte’s mannerisms, Kersey wore prosthetics above his eyes to match the actor’s deeper facial features.

“Hulk” is a cutting-edge special effects film that feasts on the dark side of the Marvel Comic Book superhero, created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It’s filled with dramatic close-ups, dark personalities, and moody soul-searching??a multi-leveled tale sprinkled with split screens and wry humor in characteristic comic book fashion.

“It’s like the classic “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” or “Frankenstein” movies??a story about the duality darkness and light, about power and how to use it,” he said. “It’s an intelligent, sometimes horrifying film not meant for everyone.”

As Kermit once said: “It’s not easy being green.”

Hulk creator Stan Lee and actor Lou Ferrigno, who starred in The Hulk television series, make cameo appearances in the movie, which has been in development for 12 years.

With almost 15 minutes of face time on a Hollywood blockbuster, Kersey knows it’s a monster break for him. “But I try to keep myself grounded in who I am and where I came from—a small farm in Ada, Minn. I think it was actor Alan Richtman who once said, ‘I take my work very seriously, but not myself.’ That’s the attitude I try to maintain.”

Kersey, 33, is now entertaining another movie offer, this time from independent filmmaker Mike Kalvoda, a former MSUM film major now an upcoming L.A. writer and director.

“We were at MSU around the same time, and I remember talking with him at 2 a.m. outside my dorm room in 2nd West Snarr Hall and dreaming about both of us making a film in Hollywood some day,” Kersey said. “Maybe it was prophetic.”

Meanwhile he’ll continue living in Los Angeles with his wife Ning and their six-year-old son, traveling frequently to China for work and pleasure.

Homecoming, October 17 and 18

New Rivers Press Literary Festival
    October 22, Avalon Event Center, 7:30 p.m., featured readings, music and reception
    October 23, featured readings: 12:00 noon, MSUM Library Porch
                   4:00 p.m., MSUM Library Porch
                   8:00 p.m., King Biology Hall
     October 23, reception, Red Bear Grill in Moorhead, 9:00-11:00 p.m.

Austin, Texas, Alumni Reunion, Friday, November 7

Dallas, Texas, Alumni Reunion, Saturday, November 8

Arizona Reunions, January 30-31

Art Department Reunion, Twin Cities area, spring 2004, date and location to be determined (We’re open to suggestions.  Just e-mail alumni@mnstate.edu.)

TKE Reunion, July 23-24, 2004

Invitations are mailed out about one month before the event.  Invitations are sent to alumni in the state where the reunion is held, plus alumni within a 100-mile radius. If you live outside the specific invitation area but want an invitation, let us know. For department and organization events, invitations are sent only to alumni from those departments/organizations. For information call toll free 1-877-270-2586 or e-mail alumni@mnstate.edu.

Outstanding Alumni Kristen Harris (’76, biology), John Hovde (’74, business) and Janelle Schumacher (‘ 72, HPE & speech communications,) and Outstanding Young Alum Cory Elmer (’71, political science and American Studies) will receive their awards at a 7 p.m. dinner Friday, Oct. 17 in the Ramada Plaza Suites in Fargo.

The School of Business distinguished alumni, Kevin C. Carlson (’79, management ) and Tammy Miller (’82, accounting/ ’95, MBA), will receive their awards at a 10 a.m. brunch Saturday, Oct. 18in the Center for Business Atrium.

Recognized as an Outstanding Young Alumna in 1987, Kristen Harris has since risen to prominence as one of the leading researchers in the field of neurobiology. Kristen received her undergraduate degree in biology in 1976, a master’s degree in neurobiology from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine and Kent State University. Her first academic appointment was as an instructor in the Department of Neuropathology at the Harvard Medical School. She held several positions there before moving to Boston University as a professor of biology and later co-director of the program in neuroscience. Last year she accepted a position as professor of neurology at the Medical College of Georgia in August, Ga., where she is the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Synapses and Cell Signaling in the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. Her research is widely published (Journal of Neuroscience, Brain Research, Journal of Comparative Neurology, Annual Reviews of Neuroscience, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science) and prominently supported (National Institutes of Health and the Packard Foundation). In addition, she is a noted speaker who’s been invited to talk at Yale University, Caltech, UCLA Brain Research Institute, MIT Center for Learning and Memory, University of Maryland, Rutgers University, as well as national symposiums related to neuroinformatics and brain research. She writes, “Our goal is to elucidate structural components involved in the cell biology of learning and memory. Areas in which I plan to expand our research include mouse models of learning and memory and mental retardation, the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in modulating synapse number and structure, and labeling of synaptic molecules in three dimensions.” Kristen and her husband, Max Snodderly, have one son.

John Hovde, featured in the winter 2002 issue of Alumnews (visit www.mnstate.edu/publications to see his story), is a finance and business graduate. But before that, he served in Vietnam. He was one of 75,000 severely disabled Vietnam vets and one of 1,081 who sustained multiple amputations—losing his left arm and leg and two fingers on his right hand. Upon his return from Vietnam, he attended North Hennepin Community College and later MSUM, graduating in 1974. He worked at 3M Corporation in the Twin Cities as merchandising supervisor for the company’s household products division until 1981. He then returned to Fertile, Minn., to live on a hobby farm and was elected to the city’s school board—a position he held for 16 years. He eventually rose to prominence in the 2,200-member Minnesota School Board Association, and in 1996 was elected its president. The most important contribution John says he’s made in his life is talking to nearly 60,000 students about “Making a Difference” in more than 400 addresses across the country in the past two decades. His heroic struggle helped John live a mostly normal life, but he says he’s no hero. “My story is our story,” he says. “A story of this nation and who we are as people. It’s very much about ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances who have the ability to do their best and overcome tragedy.” John is writing a book about his experiences, “Wings of Fire,” which he hopes to finish in the next year. His honors include Professional Management Achievement 3M, Award for Distinguished Service and Recognition as State President-National School Boards Association, and commendation from Gov. Arne Carlson for work on State School Bus Safety Task Force, among others. John and his wife Darlene have two grown children.

Janelle Schumacher has spent more than 30 years teaching physical education at schools in West Fargo and Fargo. A 1972 graduate with degrees in health/physical education and speech communication, Janelle’s honors include finalist for North Dakota Teacher of the Year; North Dakota Unsung Hero Award for Teachers; Disney American Teacher of the Year Honoree; and North Dakota Elementary Teacher of the Year, ND Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, among others. She has collaborated with four colleagues to write a book and five posters entitled “Fitness Education Pyramid.” This past year Janelle was a physical education specialist for Fargo Public Schools and its PEP bill coordinator. She’s held various leadership roles at the local and state level, including recently completing a two-year term as president of the Fargo Education Association. Janelle continues to teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation and adult CPR. She lives in Fargo and has two grown daughters.

Outstanding Young Alumnus
Corey Elmer graduated in 1991 summa cum laud with degrees in political science and American studies. He also earned a degree in American studies at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, where he was a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar. As an undergraduate at MSUM, Gov. Arne Carlson appointed him as the student member of the Minnesota State University Board—at age 19 the youngest person ever appointed to the governing board of Minnesota’s seven state universities. Carlson reappointed him to a second term in 1993, and his board colleagues elected him vice president. In 2002, Corey completed his juris doctor degree at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul.. He was a lobbyist for a St. Paul law firm, representing Minnesota cities, counties and municipal power agencies before joining the Gunhus Law Firm in Moorhead in 2003. His areas of practice include business law, municipal law, education law and employment law. Corey is a member of the Moorhead Rotary Club and MSUM’s President’s Advisory Board. He serves on the Minnesota Legislature’s Regent Candidate Advisory Council and the board of the City of Moorhead, Economic Development Authority. He and his wife Brenda live in Moorhead with their son.

Eva Vraspir Excellence in Nursing Alumni Award
Sharon Dardis earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from MSUM in 1987 and an associate degree in nursing from Dickinson State University. Her early nursing career included hospitals in Dickinson, Bowman, and Fargo, N.D., Columbus, Miss., and Aberdeen, S.D. Her long involvement with Hospice of the Red River Valley began as a volunteer and later turned to staff nurse. She’s taken on many staff and volunteer roles with Hospice, including adult bereavement, children’s bereavement, music therapy, bedside nursing, respite care, fund raising and volunteer training. While a senior at MSUM, she designed and directed the “Kids Grieve, Too” program, which was part of her student nursing preceptor project. She directed the program for seven years and it continues today. From 1996-2002, she was coordinator and facilitator of the “Kids in Grief” program at Lakeview Hospital, Stillwater, Minn., and the St. Croix Chaplaincy Association. She continues to consult with schools and other agencies regarding children and grief. She co-authored a book of meditations for end-of-life titled, “As I Journey On: Meditations for Those Facing Death,” and was featured in a video series offering insights on death and dying titled, “Journeying Home: A Six-Part Video Series About End-of-Life,” produced by Hospice of the Red River Valley. Among her honors: the National Jefferson Award for Volunteer Service, YMCA’s Woman of the Year Advocate for the Child Award, and President’s Award for Volunteerism: F-M Junior League. Former Fargo Mayor Jon Lindgren proclaimed May 11, 1993 “Sharon Dardis Day.” She is married to Stan and has three grown children.

Business Administration Alumnus of the Year
Kevin C. Carlson, president and owner of Carlson Partners Group, LLC, a business consulting company, is a 1979 management graduate. Kevin began his professional career in sales and eventually worked his way up to senior vice president of sales and marketing. He’s worked for Procter and Gamble, SC Johnson, Jefferson Wells International (JWI), and Personnel Decisions International (PDI) before starting Carlson Partners Group. Carlson has had resounding management success, including growing JWI from start-up to $125 million in revenues over a four-year period, earning the company recognition in 2001 by Inc. Magazine as the fifth fastest growing U.S.-based company. He also implemented PDI’s first global sales and marketing effort in the 30-year history of the firm, integrating the efforts of 90 sales and marketing professionals in 29 locations world-wide. Kevin is a member of Sales and Marketing Executives International and is the founding chapter president of the Gamma Iota Chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon (MSUM). He’s a regular speaker on sales, marketing and general management topics, and recently presented his article, “Would Rip Van Winkle Recognize Your Sales Force?” at the Sales and Marketing Executives International Global Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. He’s also a graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership Executive Development Program. Kevin lives in Stillwater, Minn., with his wife and three children.

Accounting Alumna of the Year
Tammy Miller earned an accounting degree from MSUM in 1982 and an MBA in 1995. Her accounting career began when she joined Charles Bailly & Co., where she worked as a staff accountant and later supervisor and manager, specializing in audits. She joined Border States Electrical Supply in 1991, and has worked her way up the company from accounting manager, to controller and treasurer, to vice president finance, and currently holds the post of executive vice president and treasurer. She serves on the company’s board of directors, and on the following committees: executive, ESOP, technology, and 401(k) plan. She recently moved to Arizona, where she’s managing BSE’s southwest region with branches in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. Tammy is a zealous volunteer, having served in leadership roles for the YWCA, United Way of Cass-Clay and the Junior League of Fargo-Moorhead. During her term as board president for the YWCA, she helped the agency embark on a $4.5 million campaign to build a new shelter. As a member of the Junior League, she helped develop the “Works for Girls” program, designed to help adolescent girls improve self-esteem. The program continues to thrive under the umbrella of the YWCA. Tammy is also a past member of the MSUM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors. Tammy and her husband Craig Palmer live in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Friday, October 17
Alumni Awards Banquet
Join us as we recognize the accomplishments of our Dragon Alumni!
6:00 p.m. Social Hour
7:00 p.m. Dinner
Ramada Plaza Suites, Fargo

Saturday, October 18
School of Business Awards Brunch
10:00 a.m.
Center for Business Atrium

Doo Dah Parade
Join the Doo Dah Parade as it circles campus.
Noon

Football
Dragons vs Winona State Warriors
1:30 game time

Women’s Soccer
Dragons vs Duluth Bulldogs
4:00 game time

Golden Reunion for the Classes of 1952, 1953, 1954
1:00 p.m. Tour of Campus
6:00 p.m. Social Hour
7:00 p.m. Banquet with lots of time for reminiscing and sharing life stories.
Ramada Plaza Suites, Fargo

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Lutheran House
Afternoon Open House at the Blue House on the Corner
6:00 p.m. Reunion Banquet featuring all your favorite church basement foods!
Comstock Memorial Union ? Comstock Room

Red  Alert! Alumni Party 2003
Breathe fire into your Dragon past while we burn down the house at Coach’s!
4:00 p.m. until the party ends!
Coaches Sports Pub, Moorhead
Music, prizes, karaoke, free apps.

Dragon Hall of Fame Banquet
6:00 p.m. Social Hour
7:00 p.m. Banquet
Holiday Inn, Fargo

Alumni Social
9:00 p.m. Knights of Columbus, Moorhead
Featuring The Shadows and Wayne Luchau playing all your favorite oldies.

Organization and Department Reunions
(Organizations will send out information.)
Owls: Luncheon October 18 at the KC Hall in Moorhead
Phi Sigma Kappa: October 18 and 19
Public Relations Student Society of America: October 18, 11:00 a.m. tailgating
History Club: October 18 (History and Social Studies)
Delta Zeta: October 18, 10:00 a.m.
Pi Sigma Epsilon: October 18, 10:00 a.m.
St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center: October 18, 11:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Music Department, MEISA, MENC, ACDA, NATS: October 18

For information on Homecoming activities e-mail alumni@mnstate.edu or call 477-2143,
toll free 1-877-270-2586.

When MSUM’s first president, Livingston Lord, left the university in 1899 after 10 years of service, he received an 18-karat gold pocket watch as a gift from prominent Moorhead lawyer, Solomon G. Comstock (who donated the land that created the campus), and Moorhead Mayor Judge Carroll A. Nye.

That watch is now back on campus. What happened in between is a mystery.

This summer a group of MSUM alumni agreed to buy the watch for $2,700 (half the appraised value of $5,000) from a collector who purchased it at four years ago at an auction house in British Columbia.

No ordinary timepiece, it was made by Geneva-based Patek Philippe, the prestigious master watchmaking company founded in 1839.

“I went to the auction specifically to see if I could pick up an old Jaguar,” said 78-year-old retired chiropractor Glendon Ferguson, the Canadian who won the bid on the watch for $4,000 Canadian (about $2,700).

He didn’t find a Jaguar, but he was attracted to the Swiss-made Patek Philippe pocket watch. He didn’t notice the inscription on it until he got home:

Presented to Livingston C. Lord
With Affection and esteem
By the Students, Teachers
and Alumni of
The Moorhead Normal
School
And Mr. S.G. Comstock
And Mr. C.A. Nye
Moorhead Minn.
May 17, 1899

Lord left what was then called The Moorhead Normal School to become the first president of Eastern Illinois State Teachers College.

Lord died in 1933, but left his legacy on the campus: Livingston Lord Library.

University officials determined the watch was originally purchased at J.B. Hudson Jewler in the Twin Cities. Ferguson said he has no idea how it eventually landed in Canada. But he kept the watch in a safety deposit box for the next couple years.

“Then I thought, that’s kind of silly,” he said. “Besides being an old watch, it has no meaning for anyone up here. So I e-mailed the city of Moorhead to find out if anyone was interested.”

The e-mail ended up on the desk of Michael Redlinger, a recent MSUM alum (master’s degree in public administration) who’s an assistant to the Moorhead city manager.

“It was just a random e-mail we got and we knew right away where the watch should go,” said Redlinger, who also sits on the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees.

Mark Vanyo, MSUM’s Alumni Association president, along with other members of MSUM’s now defunct Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, eventually donated the funds to buy the watch from Ferguson at half its appraised value.

The watch is in working, mint condition.

Doug Hamilton, executive director of university advancement, said the most obvious place to display the watch would be in the Livingston Lord Library.

“It’s kind of an artifact that allows us to share our history and our traditions,” he said.

And keep a watch on history.

The seventh president of MSU Moorhead is one of the creators of an exhibit that tells the personal story of his family’s experience with the Nazi persecution of Jews before and during World War II.  John J. Neumaier was “Hans” when he was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1921.  His father, Otto, was an established businessman; his mother, Leonora, was a well-known opera singer.

Neumaier was a teenager when the Nazi Party began its domination of German politics and culture.  Jews were threatened by party thugs and harassed by government bureaucrats and discriminatory laws.  As war loomed, John and his father managed to leave Germany and travel to the U.S., but complications with immigration rules and officials kept his mother from joining them.

Virulent anti-Semitism became government policy. The Nazi persecution of Jews ended in concentration camps for mass murder.  Leonora was arrested by the Gestapo and taken to the Majdanek death camp in Poland.  She was murdered at the camp in June 1942.

She left a legacy for her children and their children.  In 1946 a Swiss warehouse sent a notice to Otto Neumaier about several trunks left in storage.  The trunks had been packed by Leonora and contained family heirlooms, opera programs, posters, and reviews of Leonora’s performances, as well as recordings of her singing voice.

Neumaier and his daughter, Diane, used materials from the trunks to create A Voice Silenced as a tribute to the memory of Leonore Schwarz Neumaier and to the millions of innocent victims of the Nazis.  The exhibit will be on display in the MSU Moorhead Art Gallery in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts from October 6-20.  Former president Neumaier will deliver a public lecture at the gallery at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, October 9.  The exhibition was underwritten by a donation from Ruth G. Landfield of Fargo.

’31 Agnes Gibb Mork, Elem. Educ., Mesa, AZ
’33 Phebe Aleda Jacobson, Elem. Educ., Fergus Falls, MN
’35 Mildred Casperson Foss, Elem. Educ., Minot, ND
’38 Jennie Adeline Johnson, Elem. Educ., Pelican Rapids, MN
’39 Dorothy Belford Lamb, Elem. Educ., Fargo, ND
’48 Dorothy Pohl Hansen, Elem. Educ., Rosholt, SD
’50 Gordon L. Christensen, Social Studies, Jamestown, ND
’51 Ethel Dragseth, Elem. Educ., International Falls, MN
’63 John Litherland, Bus. Admin., Moorhead, MN
’67 Monica Bergen, English, Newtown, CT
’69 Mary Franklin Erickson, English, Dent, MN
’70 Paul D. Walker, Mathematics, Red Lake Falls, MN
’75 Calvin N. Paulson, Accounting, Fargo, ND
’78 Peter G. Hess, Marketing, Laguna Niguel, CA
’81  Nancy M. Dartt, Social Work, Cottage Grove, MN
’81 Ann Charbonneau Vander Maten, Speech Comm., Moorhead, MN
’84 Gloria Berneking Viken, Individualized Major, Wahpeton, ND
’88 Greg A. Lage, Accounting, Fargo, ND
’91 Marilou Johnson Sollom, Chemistry, International Falls, MN

If you know where any of these people are, please contact the Alumni Foundation Office.

Aarhus, Mabel
Ahles, Alice
Anderson, Burton
Barrett, Mary
Bekstrom, Jeannette
Berg, Bernice
Berge, Adolph
Boline, Lola
Brady, Alpha
Brookens, Myrtle
Bru, Vera
Bruhn, Leone
Bye, Rose
Campbell, Pearl
Carlson, Margaret
Clarksean, Elizabeth
Clauson, Victor
Claypool, Charlotte
Cooney, Edna
Dallager, Mabel
Daly, F. Marmion
Dess, Lavida
Domian, Genevieve
Dovre, Theresa Bergh
Efteland, Helen
Egge, Alison
Eklund, Mary Caldwell
Eraker, Erwin
Erickson, Althea
Erickson, Minnie
Evavold, Anna
Fleener, Maisie
Frye, Dolores
Gast, Fay
Gossen, Gerald
Graham, Becky
Gunderson, Olive
Hage, Ruth
Hagen, Blanche
Halvorson, Eileen
Hanson, Lois Anthony
Hanson, Rachel
Hanson, Laverne
Hanson, Hope
Hanson, Beulah
Hartman, Patricia
Hatling, Avona
Haugrud, Agnes
Headland, Alice
Hedland, Alpha
Heidelberger, Leslie
Heisler, Ione
Hellebust, Astrid Rose
Hendrickson, Phyllis
Herbranson, Alice
Herlick, Florence
Herlick, Irene
Herting, Delores
Hessler, Anne
Hoffemeyer, Ruth
Holcomb, Mary
Holst, Cordelia
Houge, Marjorie
Huseby, Alice
Johannessohn, Augusta
Johnson, Pearl
Johnson,  Agnes
Johnson, Charles
Johnson, Fern
Johnson, Gudrin
Johnson, Willa
Johnson, Kathryn
Josephson, Louise
Julsrud, Eunice
Julsrud, Nora
Karlstrom, Eunice
Kelley, Cleone
Kuehl, Esther
Kuhn, Verla
Langseth, Myrtle
Larson, Evelyn
Larson, Esther
Lemieux, Orpha Gabrielson
Lundby, Ellen
Lystne, Anna
Malmen, Leona
Martin, Bruce
Mattson, Marjorie
McCann, Fannie
McCasland, Marjorie
Mecham, Eileen
Mickelson, Margaret
Miller, Helen
Morgan, Edward
Nelson, Cecile
Nelson, Viola
Nelson, Camilla
Nelson, Alice
Norris, Ruth Horien
Olsen, Cleo
Olson, Irene
Olson, Marilynn Jensen
Osmundson, Sylvia
Otos, Marjorie
Owens, Charlette, Larson
Petersen, Phyllis
Pool, Bonnie
Rasmussen, Patricia
Reardon, Constance
Remfrey, Curt
Rhoades, Harry
Ricci, Lenore Brown
Rice, Lorraine
Sanders, Mildred
Schultz, Eleanora
Severson, Margaret
Shuley, Janet
Siebels, Henrietta
Skaug, Margaret
Skibness, Janice
Sleen, Laverne
Smith, William
Sorum, M. Pauline
Stark, Geneva Effie
Stenhjem, Lillian
Sullivan, Katharine
Sullivan, Virginia
Sundstad,  Margaret
Syltie, Mabel
Thompson, Wilhelm
Thue, Tessie
Wandro, Virginia
Warrey, Marian
Webster, Jane
Wiger, Orena
Williams, Laurie Vantuyl
Williams, Lucille
Woolson, Raca Kapp
Worman, Florence
Wyum, Edna
Zuehlsdorff, Merlynn
Zuelke, Margery

The general university telephone number changed to 477-4000. All other faculty, administrative and resident student numbers also converted to the new 477 prefix.

MSUM upgraded its telephone system this summer to save costs. It’s estimated that the university will save $750,000 over five years with the new system, which includes enhanced emergency service access, voice mail and capability for future expansion.

Alumni Office  218.477.2143
   Toll-free  877.270.2586
Records Office 218.477.2565
Admissions Office 218.477.2161
   Toll-free  800.593.7246
Information  218.477.4000

MSUM Partners recognizes donors who contribute an annual gift of $1,000 or more toward restricted and unrestricted needs of the university. MSUM Partners receive special invitations to events and participate in a variety of educational experiences throughout the year. If you are interested in receiving information about this program, please contact Judy Peterson, Director of Annual Giving at 218-477-2093 or peterju@mnstate.edu.

Gifts, which qualify donors for the planned giving society, include bequests, life insurance, charitable trusts, lead trusts, gift annuities, retained life estates, and making the Alumni Foundation the beneficiary of an annuity or retirement plan.  One unique feature of the planned giving society is that all gifts, regardless of their estimated value, qualify the donor for membership.

Benefits of membership to the planned giving society include a personalized certificate, publications, and special invitations to events on campus.  Society members will also be invited to attend local and regional gatherings of alumni and other friends of the university, and receive special correspondence from the University President.

If alumni or friends already qualify for membership, or want more information about  qualifying for the Society contact Dennis Aune at 218-477-2049 or by email at aune@mnstate.edu.

1915: RULES FOR TEACHERS

1. You may not marry during the term of your contract.
2. You are not to keep company with men.
3. You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., unless attending a school function.
4. You may not loiter downtown in ice cream stores.
5. You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have the permission of the chairman of the board.
6. You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother
7. You may not smoke cigarettes.
8. You may not dress in bright colors.
9. You man under no circumstances dye your hair.
10. You must wear at least two petticoats.
11. Your dresses must not be any shorter than two inches above the ankle.
12. To keep the school room neat and clean, you must: sweep the floor at least once daily; scrub the floor at least once a week with hot, soapy water; clean the blackboards at least once a day; and start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m.
(Wendland found these rules posted in a restored one-room schoolhouse in West Bend, Wisc., now part of a museum.)

For her first day as a teacher at a one-room schoolhouse in rural Swift County, Minn., Florence Thompson chose for her wardrobe a pair of bloomers, a cotton camisole, white shirtwaist, a pair of cotton stockings, the required two petticoats to go under her long gray flannel skirt, and high-button boots.

The year was 1912 and Florence, just 17 years old and a mere 5’2” tall, had just earned her Secondary Class Teaching Certificate after studying 11 months at Moorhead Normal School, today known as Minnesota State University Moorhead.

With a severe shortage of teachers throughout the newly settled Midwest, finding a job wasn’t difficult, despite her age and limited education. District 34 in Swenoda Township south of Benson, Minn., hired her sight unseen.

It was rumored to be the worst school in the county. The previous teacher quit after one term when the students locked her in the privy.

But Florence was still bathing in the glow of the inspirational words she heard at Moorhead Normal, that it was the duty of gifted people like herself to carry the light of knowledge to the ignorant.

That’s how Audrey K. Wendland’s book, “Florence,” begins, the story of a country school teacher in Minnesota and North Dakota in pre-World War I America.

Wendland, a freelance writer now living in Florida, is Florence’s daughter. Most of the book is based on conversations with her mother over decades.  “She was a vivid storyteller and had a great memory,” said Wendland.

Writing a book, however, remained on Wendland’s back burner until her mother died in 1988 at the age of 93. Soon after, the first chapter in what would become a 335-page biography with 26 vintage photographs, won First Place in the Florida Freelance Writers’ Competition. It was the encouragement she needed.

What also motivated her to finish writing “Florence” were the brave and heroic people who didn’t look upon their lives as hardship, she said. “They made the best of whatever came along, just as their pioneer forefathers had done when they settled Minnesota and North Dakota. And like the heroine of this story, they were always looking for better days.”

The story begins after Florence graduates from Moorhead Normal and accepts her first teaching job in a rural Norwegian stronghold in southwestern Minnesota. Her salary:  $45 a month, with $20 of that going for room and board with a dour immigrant farmer and his equally sullen wife.

The school itself was a squat frame building set on a crumbling stone foundation, with rotting wooden steps, peeling paint and two broken windows covered with butcher’s paper. Her 17 students ranged in age from 6 to 16.

While Florence had to sweep the schoolhouse floors, prime the pump every morning, stoke the stove in the early winter dawn and walk miles through pastures to reach the school house, she was filled with optimism.

She started her first day like she would all the others to follow,  with the class singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” a mandatory anthem that opened every school day in Minnesota.

Despite a strict code of conduct and dress for teachers (no dancing or roller skating; no consorting with men; bright colors are to be avoided; two petticoats must be worn in class; no loitering in downtown ice cream parlors), she delighted in the simple pleasures of her students’ successes.

Throughout the book, Florence is tugged by the changing landscapes of America—one agrarian and isolated, the other industrialized and growing.

While she embraces the simple pleasures of rural Minnesota—where spelling bees were social events, grandma smoked a pipe and women cooked traditional Norwegian foods like rommegrot and limpa bread—she became despondent about the loneliness and hardships.

It was evident in her perceptive view of Tom Clayton, the oldest student in her first class, who looked like a full grown man, a farm kid with a devilish demeanor and oafish manner. “Underneath all that nastiness,” Florence says, “I think he’s just a scared kid who realizes he doesn’t have much of a future, trapped in an endless round of chores.”

Florence also anguishes about the plight of women, many of them she sees wilt under the strict, sober control of their husbands. “Even President Woodrow Wilson,” she says, ”who seemed so smart about everything else, didn’t think that women’s suffrage was very important.”

Florence stays in District 34 one year, then moves to Spring Creek, Halloway and then Six Mile Grove—four school districts in four years. Summer sessions she studies at Moorhead Normal to earn her First Class Certificate, which would guarantee her a salary of $65 a month.

While Florence loves teaching, the starkness of country living weighs her down, until she reestablishes a relationship with Leonard Kvam, a man she first met in Swift County. Romance buds, and both share an excitement about the future opportunities of city life. But his ambition to leave the farm follows a twisted career path that separates them  throughout most of the book.

As the approach of  World War I dampens their relationship, Florence takes an unexpected move. After visiting her homesteading sister and her husband in the Bowman County, located in the remote southwestern corner of North Dakota, she decides to stay there a year to teach in another one-room schoolhouse outside of Rhame, N.D. Part of the time living with her sister and brother-in-law, she shared a bed with their two children and lived with the family in a sod hut with a rusted tin roof.

It’s a step backward for Florence, whose elusive urban dream suffocates under the matted prairie grasses. She would spend the year riding a horse four miles to her schoolhouse, where she taught a class of eight students.

After moving to Minneapolis to study business while he beau Leonard Kvam is assigned to an Army machine gun training unit, she becomes a victim of the influenza pandemic of 1918, which killed 675,000 Americans, 10 times as many that died in World War I. Earlier in her career, she also overcame a bout with smallpox.

Soon men begin arriving home from Europe, many suffering the painful and deadly effects of mustard gas poisoning. Then, as the book approaches its end in 1918, Armistice ends World War I.

The thought of marriage becomes a mixed blessing for Florence. “Sometimes it was so tiresome to be a woman,” she said. “Men didn’t have to defend their virtue all the time. Men could marry and not lose their teaching jobs. Life was so unfair.”

Two years later, women finally get the right to vote.

Florence’s five-year adventure is also peppered with several quaint escapades, including an encounter with rattlesnakes, a nine-hour misadventure in a prairie blizzard and her aunt’s wedding reception at her grandmother’s house, where 60 guests, who must share a single privy, are stormbound overnight.

Wendland is a journalism graduate of the University of Wisconsin and a freelance writer with credits in a variety of magazines. Her hobby, genealogy, helped her research many of the book’s historical details .

“Florence” sells for $15. It’s available through Wendland’s website: www.awendland.com, or e-mail her at awend@earthlink.net. To order by regular mail, send a check for $19.50, which includes shipping and handling, to: 700 Bay Dr. #1013, Niceville, FL. The book is also available at the Benson Museum in Swift County. It will be listed in the fall catalog of the North Dakota Historical Society.

It’s where you go.
It’s who you know.
It’s what you’re gonna be.

Take a look around.
The things you’ve found
It’s there for you to see.

A mellow place,
A sunny day,
A knowing smile,
A home away,
An easy chair,
A friend who cares,
A place to learn if you should dare to try—
Cause life’s a trip.

Life’s a Trip: Hest & Kramer
 

It may not play on MTV, but the song Bob Hest and associates created for MSU Moorhead may well set a higher standard for college marketing efforts. While the video portion of the music video has yet to be completed, Executive Director of University Advancement Doug Hamilton says that the final product will be somewhat atypical for videos about college campuses.

“It won’t be a guy in a suit and tie telling us about this building or who that person is,” he said. “It will be essentially a music video that tells the story about our campus in a way that’s interesting to watch and listen to.”

Hamilton was expecting an instrumental production that would be the bed for radio and television commercials. Much to his delight, it turned into much more, sort of a “song of praise about the university,” Hamilton said.

Hest, a 1998 art graduate of MSUM, followed a guideline provided by the university and found that the general message rang true, but that “the music and the power of the song should contain the message.

“We translated the ‘party line’ into a simpler version, something of lyric and poetry so that 15-19 year old kids would want to listen to it. I think we totally nailed it,” Hest said, who’s been a partner with Hest Kramer for 14 years. “We have a good, intuitive sense of what’s right. We are confident of our work but also very critical. Before anything leaves our studio we’ve taken more shots at our work than anyone.”

Hest Kramer, one of the premier music production houses in the country with a client list that includes Chrysler, Target, and Mattel’s Hot Wheels and Barbie lines, specializes in youthful music. Based in Minneapolis, they work for advertising agencies all over the country and recently extended their reach into Asia. They’ve also started working on movie trailers, recently completing projects for Nickelodeon and currently working on a movie project for Warner Brothers.

“We’re sort of a boutique company, filling the niche of creating music that appeals to young men and women. That’s what we do all day long and that’s why people hire us,” Hest said. “We’re all about kids.”

More importantly for MSUM, this gift of music to the university is truly a gift—an in-kind contribution valued conservatively at about $30,000. HK typically charges $20,000 for 30 seconds of music.

Hest’s relationship to the university is rooted in his relationship with people here, including Hamilton, who encouraged Hest to make an in-kind gift several years ago.

“Hest Kramer is so well known and skilled at doing musical reinforcement that I knew we would gain much from a collaboration with them,” Hamilton said. However, the timing needed to be right for the project to move forward.

“When we initially talked, we were thinking of producing radio or TV spots, but the university didn’t have the budget to do the air buys, so it didn’t seem like the right time,” Hest said. “But all of a sudden this project wasn’t dependent on air buys, plus it gave us an opportunity to do a longer format.”

In addition, the advent of the Internet as a key marketing venue to recruit prospective students was an ideal place to distribute broadly a music video, without buying expensive airtime or producing thousands of CDs or DVDs.

MSUM takes a long trip to get there
The music video is the culmination of a two-and-a-half year effort spurred by a one-time $150,000 marketing enhancement from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) to campuses to pursue marketing objectives tailored to individual institutions. “In our particular case,” Hamilton said. “We hadn’t ever focused specifically on an advertising scheme.”

Fargo-based AHA, an advertising and marketing firm owned by MSUM alumnus Al Hovland, ('71 mass communications)  secured the contract. In a lengthy, arduous and complex process, AHA’s recommendations went beyond the typical one-shot advertising campaign. Instead, they suggested that MSUM focus on an ongoing analysis of the recruitment process. They believed one of the most efficient and effective ways to do that was to create a marketing team within the university that utilizes MSUM personnel and resources more creatively.

Dragon Communications was created, which is essentially the university’s marketing and advertising agency. It’s comprised of professionals from admissions, publications, printing, instructional media and instructional technology.

“Dragon Communications was formed to model an advertising/marketing agency’s approach to develop effective recruitment tools for our campus,” Hamilton said. “It’s the first time we’ve put the best heads together to think about these things in a strategic way and within a cohesive structure.”

With the in-house agency in place and a master plan beginning to take shape, the time was right to call on Hest to fulfill his pledge to the university. This was the long-awaited Hest Kramer opportunity. It was the right kind of gift for Hest to make.

“Obviously, it doesn’t cost me out of pocket, but I also happen to believe that we’re one of the better companies in the country doing this kind of thing,” Hest said. “I know the power of music and I know what we can do, so I thought it would be smart if the university capitalized on the fact that people such as myself have the skill that would help them sell their product.”

Hamilton couldn’t agree more.

“We are blessed with a large and well respected group of alumni who work in the advertising and marketing fields,” he said. “We benefit from this kind of strategic alliance because it’s an area, budget wise, where we are always strapped. The university’s marketing and advertising resources are sparse, even in comparison with our immediate competition in the surrounding area. So we couldn’t be doing what we’re doing without the pro bono gifts of time and expertise from Hest and other groups. These are contributions that double or even triple our financial resources. We’re leveraging these relationships as best we can to promote the university.”

Al Hovland’s paid relationship with the university is over, but he continues to volunteer his time and talent to marketing efforts, particularly in the development of the music video framework. In addition, Norm Robinson, ('73, mass communications)  president of Advertising Marketing of Fargo, has donated his time and talent to Dragon Communication. And the R&D Group out of Fargo, (or West Fargo?) approached MSUM about serving as a prototype for a new product they are developing to market their business.

“Essentially it’s an agent, a dragon of course, that comes up on the computer screen and assists users in finding out information about MSUM in a very engaging and interactive way,” Hamilton said. “We’re excited about the possibilities of this effort. We’re the only university in the country right now that’s as far along with this as we are. Although the R&D Group is working on a similar project like this for Notre Dame, we’re well ahead of their efforts. It’s kind of exciting.”

What’s most exciting for the university and the staff working with our alumni is their infusion of creative energy and excitement about helping their alma mater.

“These efforts really do have utility for alumni, too,” Hamilton said. “Alumni are sensitive about how good the university is. MSUM is highly regarded and we benefit from the involvement of alumni who can provide expertise to help us sustain our excellence.”

(If you’re interested in talking to Doug Hamilton about possible in-kind gifts of time or talent, please call him at 218.477.2175, e-mail hamiltnd@mnstate.edu, or write MSU Moorhead, 1104 7th Ave. S., Moorhead, MN 56563. If you’d like to listen to the song Hest Kramer wrote for MSUM, visit…..)

Contributions from this year’s phonathon are critical with rising tuition costs.  The financial assistance for today’s MSUM students is needed and donations to the phonathon will truly make a difference!  Public universities are an important option for people of all ages attaining their educational goals.  Please welcome the students’ calls as they share information on current university events and ask for your help.

“Hey, my old dorm, Neumaier Hall. It’s gone,” he told the pilot as they buzzed the campus. (Neumaier Hall was imploded and removed from campus in 1999.) Capt. Dylan Hunt is actually Kevin Sorbo, star of Gene Roddenberry’s “Andromeda,” for the past three years among the top three rated weekly syndicated program on television. Last week, he began shooting the series’ fourth season.

“I spent just a quarter shy of four years at Moorhead State,” Sorbo said last week in a telephone interview from his home in Henderson, Nev. “I have nothing but fond memories of the campus. It’s ridiculous that I haven’t been back there for 22 years.”

Originally from Mound, Minn., Sorbo followed his buddies up to Moorhead and studied business and marketing at MSUM. “I was basically a jock back then and spent most of my time lifting weights, playing basketball, and running back and forth to happy hours,” he said. “I really wanted to study drama, but I thought my friends would make fun of me. But every now and then I’d sneak into the back of an acting class and just watch.”

His future took a hairpin turn while he was daydreaming in an MSUM marketing class. “My life was heading in the wrong direction and that’s exactly when I decided to change it.”

Without a single theatre class under his belt, Sorbo left MSUM to pursue an acting career. It took him more than a decade (most of it modeling for commercials), but in 1993 he landed his first big break, the starring role in the campy, tongue-in-cheek television action adventure, “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.”

“Hercules” became such an international smash hit that Sorbo’s chiseled face—surfer tan, ocean blue eyes, flowing rock star hair—appeared on lunchboxes and action-figure toys and in magazines ranging from TV Guide and Newsweek to People. The show actually bested “Baywatch” in the ratings and is still in syndication world-wide.  At its peak, it aired in 140 countries.

“It was quite a trip,” says Sorbo, who played Hercules for seven years and then jumped right into “Andromeda.”

The transition between the two parts represented a fictional time-warp of about 6,000 years for Sorbo, who went from portraying a corny mythical Greek hero to a noble, futuristic starship captain.

“My wife said I went from Herc to Kirk,” Sorbo said.

The late Gene Roddenberry created the concept of “Andromeda” after his success with “Star Trek.” A pilot was shot in 1969, but never succeeded. Thirty years later, Sorbo helped revive an original series based on Roddenberry’s archives.

Sorbo’s success has led to appearances on Leno, Letterman and several television sit-coms (“Dharma & Greg,” “Just Shoot Me” and “Cybill,” to name a few). He’s regularly invited the Emmys and played five straight years in the Bob Hope Classic Celebrity-Pro Golf Tournament (he’s a five-handicap golfer).

Last year he was named the eighth most bankable star in syndication. The year before, he rated  third, behind Regis Philbin and Oprah Winfrey.

“It’s amazing what fame does,” he said. “I can pick up the telephone now and call Arnold Palmer or Greg Norman. I have their personal numbers. In fact, I’ve meet lots of incredibly successful people on the golf course, including the CEOs of some of the world’s biggest corporations.”

It’s quite a compliment, he says, because it indicates these people both like and trust him . “I don’t think I’m a Hollywood guy, and that’s probably a good thing, considering how much that city destroys people. I spent seven years filming in New Zealand and three in Canada. So I’ve pretty much stayed away from the Hollywood crowd. My best friends today are the same guys I grew up with in Minneapolis and at Moorhead State. Thankfully I’ve kept my Minnesota roots intact.”

Six years ago Gov. Arne Carlson proclaimed a Kevin Sorbo Day in Minnesota and the city of Mound changed the name of the street he grew up on, Fourth Lane, to Sorbo Lane. The Minneapolis suburb also named a park after him.

Sorbo actually did stop in Fargo two years ago. “The network hired a private jet to fly me from Vancouver, where we film ‘Andromeda,’ to New York to appear on a celebrity version of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire,’” he said. “We were on our way back when we refueled in Fargo in the middle of the night and I asked the pilot to buzz Moorhead State. It was fun. ”

While “Andromeda“ (which airs in Fargo-Moorhead at 11 p.m. Sundays on CBS-TV 4) doesn’t have the exposure or the expense account of “Hercules,” it’s doing quite well, Sorbo said.

“The television landscape has changed drastically in the past decade,” he said. “There are just so many channels now, it’s so diluted. ‘Hercules’ pulled about a seven or eight share and “Andromedia” pulls about a three or four share (meaning about three to four million people watch the show).“

“Andromeda” isn’t nearly as popular in the United States as it is overseas, he said.  More than 155 countries have bought the series and it’s still growing. “Somehow science fiction, at least on television, is much bigger in the international market than it is in the states. The show has already been picked up for a fifth season, so we must be doing something right.”

Fortunately, the demands of doing “Andromeda” are less grueling than “Hercules.”

“In ‘Hercules,’ we put in 16 to 18 hour days 10 months of the year,” he said. “I didn’t have much time off and some of the show’s stunt work demanded a lot. When I signed on for ‘Andromeda,’ I insisted on a 12-hour door-to-door schedule, meaning if I left home at 6 a.m. I’d be back home at 6 p.m. Better yet, we only film seven months of the year (22 episodes), which gives me time to pursue other interests.”

Sorbo still works out regularly. “But after 25 years of lifting weights, I really don’t care anymore. My ego is gone and I don’t really need it anymore.”

The 44-year-old, 6’3” Sorbo keeps his weight at a trim 210 pounds now, a little less bulky than when he played Hercules.

Sorbo is married to Sam Jenkins, an actress he met in 1996 when she guest starred in “Hercules.” They have a young son, Braeden.

Their home in Nevada is just a 45-minute flight to Vancouver. “We also bought a home there because we spend so much time in Vancouver. It’s essentially Hollywood North. You go to a restaurant there and it feels like Beverly Hills. Part of the reason is that the U.S. dollar is pretty strong up there and the Canadian government offers some tax incentives to the film industry.”

Sorbo is an executive producer for “Andromeda” and his contract allows him to direct two episodes a year. “That may look nice on a resume, but directing just adds 20 hours to a workweek that’s already 80 hours long.”

He’s  also had to work with a new head writer in each of the last three years.

“I was disappointed when they let Robert Hewitt Wolfe go,” Sorbo said. “He’s an incredible writer and talent; but he bent the suits in L.A. the wrong way. The problem was he took the show into a much darker area.”

Sorbo likes the show’s new slant, which, like the original “Star Trek,“ relies on more humor and sarcasm.

“This is entertainment and escape, so we do need humor and a good story line,” he said. “The world is dark enough as it is.  I like anything with that Harrison Ford or James Bond smirkyness.”

Sorbo hasn’t tired of “Andromeda” yet.

“Hey, I’ve been working steadily in television for 11 years,” he said. “A lot of my acting buddies are now out of business. So I’m having an incredible run, considering that television is a real crap shoot. I’d say fewer than 99 percent of all pilots never make it.”

Yet his eventual goal is to break into major motion pictures.

“‘Kull the Conqueror’ did okay at the box office,” he said about his role in the $35 million action adventure movie released in 1997. “The biggest mistake was opening the film on Labor Day weekend, traditionally the worst movie weekend of the year. We fought with Universal, but we lost. It also happened to be the same weekend Princess Di passed away. Everyone was glued to the television, including me.”

He just completed a small indie film called “Clipping Adam “ by first-time director Michael Picchiottini. Sorbo plays a freethinking priest who helps a young boy cope with the death of his mother and sister. He’s also in a short film produced, written and directed by his wife.

“I have to shake off that ‘Gilligan’s Island’ effect, you know, the typecasting that happens after playing one character who becomes so well known.

But don’t worry about Sorbo. He’s doing fine.

Because “Hercules” was recently picked up for another five-tear syndication run in America, he just signed a contract with a company promoting paraphernalia from the show—action toys, swords, jackets.

He and his wife, who designed their own home furniture, also just released a line of their own furniture, a business venture that developed through another connection he made on the golf course. “We have two collections out now with 70 pieces,” he said. “They’re very attractive and affordable. If you want to see them on the Internet, go to www.boydfurniture.com.”

“It’s all so overwhelming now,” he said. “And I just took on another job as host of a new Canadian golf show.”

He’s also the spokesperson for “A World Fit for Kids,” a non-profit that provides gang, drug and dropout prevention programming to kids at risk. In that role, Sorbo helps raise awareness of the importance of mentoring and acting as a positive role model for children.
“I’ve even been on a few Canadian cooking shows, demonstrating my old recipes for cinnamon rolls and barbeques I used to make at Moorhead State,” he said. “My old roommates always said I’d make a great wife some day.”

None of them, however, imagined he’d ever become a starship captain, never mind a Greek god.