[ class notes ]
Lois Widmark ‘71 1990 Joseph Korkowski is the new Sets Alumni Record Executive Director of Explore
Alexandria Tourism. He joins the organization after more than 19 years at KXRA radio and 3 decades in broadcasting.
1991 Lois Widmark is a member of the 1971 Charter Class. She is our oldest alumna and turned 100 on Jan. 1, 2022. Lois attended Southwest as a non-traditional student and was 49 when she graduated. She enjoyed a long elementary school teaching career.
1971
Lois (Paine) Widmark is our oldest alumna, at 100 years old. She lives in Ivanhoe, Minn.
1972
Bill Haines retired from the Ramsey County Sheriff Department after 28 years. He also worked court security for the U.S. Marshal’s Service for 5 years.
1975
Jerry Reker was inducted into the Minnesota Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on April 23 in Austin, Minn. He received the Lifetime Service Award.
1978
David Horn retired from the US Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Ariz. He worked as a test engineer and engineering manager.
1986
Kay (Bruggeman) Nelson received the 2022 Outstanding Central Office Leader Award from the Minnesota Association of School Administrators during the group’s spring conference in March. A week after receiving the award, Nelson was named the assistant superintendent for secondary education in the St. Cloud School District (MN). Dr. David Perkins was promoted to Professor of Business at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz., where he teaches business analytics and operations management.
1987
Justin Ingalls was hired as the coordinator of football officials for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in April 2022.
8 | FOCUS
Jay Petersen taught and participated in a seminar on Intersex for Brown University School of Public Health-LGBT Health in April 2022.
1998
Kent Roers was the 2022 SMSU Commencement speaker. (Story on page 7.)
1995
Stacy (Bauer) Jones was named CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Falls Empire (S.D.) and started on April 11.
1996
Jefferson Lee (MBA ’11) received two distinct honors — the Cathy Cowan Award for 2022, and the MLK Humanitarian Award. He is the Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at SMSU. Spencer Aune was named the first-ever head coach of the Rock Ridge Public School (Virginia, Minn.) boys’ basketball program, in April. He was most recently the girls’ varsity basketball coach for the school.
1998
Rocki (Shaw) Fiebiger accepted a new position as factory cost accountant at American Crystal Sugar Company’s Moorhead.
1999
Travis Fossing is the sports director at KELO-TV in Sioux Falls, S.D. He joined the station in October, 2020.
2000
Court Anderson was named one of Minnesota Lawyer’s 2021 Attorneys of the Year. Anderson works at Henson Efron law firm in Minneapolis.
2001
Ryan Loken was promoted to Vice President, HR Partner at Tyson Foods, Springdale, Ark.
2002
Sarah Hoff was named Kansas Master Teacher for 2022. Since 1954, teachers from across the state have nominated, selected, and
named Kansas Master Teachers. Josh Turek was a guest on Iowa Public Radio’s show “Talk of Iowa” in January and discussed his professional wheelchair basketball career and his path to becoming a two-time gold medalist as a paralympic athlete.
2003
Jason Maxwell was named Chief Financial Officer of Sioux Valley Energy in January, 2022. Sioux Valley Energy is headquartered in Colman, S.D.
2004
Satyajit Dattagupta was appointed Chief Enrollment Officer at Northeastern University, Boston, Mass., in January. Dattagupta will lead the university’s diverse global recruitment and enrollment efforts. Laura (Lundbohm) Hulsebus is the owner of Hulsebus Chiropractic in St. Peter, Minn.
2005
Pat Hamilton is the new superintendent of the Mason City School District in Mason City, Iowa. Hamilton began his duties on July 1. Scott Stokes (MS) is the new president of Iowa Lakes Community College. Stokes began his duties on July 1.
2007
Candie Baker (MS) owns Webster’s Marketplace in Ripon, Wis., and received the Wisconsin Grocers Association’s “Supermarket Hero Award” for going above and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic. Daniel McGonigle began work as the new community education director in Detroit Lakes, Minn., on in October, 2021.
2006
Colby Pack will serve as the new head boys’ basketball coach, Dean of Students and transportation director at Red Rock Central Public School in Lamberton, Minn. Previously, he was a teacher and coach in Fulda.
2008
Benjamin Watkins was named the new parking manager of the Rochester International Airport in Rochester, Minn., in March 2022. Dana Yost was the guest writer at Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa for its Distinguished Writers Series in February.
All cities are in Minnesota unless noted. Events are in the current year unless noted.
2009
Jason Kjos (MS) is the assistant principal and Director of Indian Education for Red Wing High School in Red Wing.
2010
Whitney (Dierks) Fischer and Matthew Fischer ’09 welcomed a third daughter, Bellamy Rae, on Dec. 4, 2021.
2011
Ben Dolan joined the MidMinnesota Development Commission’s regional development team in January, 2022 as a community planner serving four counties: Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker and Renville.
2012
Toni (Harms) Lewis and husband Aaron welcomed a son, Noah Daniel, on Jan. 13, 2022.
2013
Kyle Box was hired as the new City Operations Director for Willmar, Minn. He started on May 16. Paige (Geving) Groeneweg and husband Jordan ’13 welcomed a daughter, Lily, in August, 2021. Corby McGlauflin is the head baseball coach at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa.
2014
Kassi (Hague) Tietz accepted an administrative staff position in January at Hoffman & Brobst, an accounting firm in Marshall.
2015
Amy (Clemensen) Schmiesing (MS) is the new head athletic trainer at SMSU. She began her duties in August, 2021. Julia Stuckey (MBA ’19) began a new position as assistant manager of Tavern 507 in Marshall, Minn., in January.
2016
Wendy (Andersen) Mamer was recognized as part of the first group of graduates of Augustana University’s Diversity Advocate Program, which provides courses on diversity, equity, and inclusion which she hopes to use to help with suicide prevention and mental health advocacy
2017
Allison (Schwartz) Kirk is a purchasing agent at Mountain Power Hydraulics, Mountain Lake. Nicole Schwing started a new position as the SUCCESS program
