1980-89

Julie K. (Andreen) Lutz, ’80 (Winona, MN) and her husband, Bob, have two children, Amanda, 17, and Rebecca, 13. Julie recently joined the University Advancement team at Winona State as a development administrative assistant. Before coming back to her alma mater, Julie was a stay at home mom, a mortgage banker, and she worked in the Winona Area Public School district.

Michael Safranek, ’80 (Chicago, IL) has relocated to Chicago, after working 18 years at University of Iowa Healthcare, Iowa City, Iowa. Michael is a staff nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in the Diamond Headache Unit working with various types of headache sufferers.

Tom Sivia, ’80 (Beach Park, IL) is the national aftermarket sales manager at Peer Bearing Company, Wheeling, Ill. He and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 18 years and have two children, 15 & 12.

Marcia L. (Koschade) Solberg, ’80 (Manitowoc, WI) received a doctor of ministry degree in pastoral ministry and worship from Luther Seminary in May 2004 at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minn. She is married to Reverend Steven J. Solberg.

Steven Gwilt, ’82 (Cookeville, TN) is involved in the Inaugural Shakespeare in the Park at the Dogwood Performance Pavilion in Dogwood Park in Cookeville. He is producing and performing the role of Puck in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." He invites WSU friends and classmates to visit the project's website: http://dramacenter.Cookeville-tn.org and use the mail link to email him.

Julie Iverson, ’82 (Decorah, IA) is assistant director for admissions & transfer student recruitment at Luther College in Decorah. She is pursuing a certificate in spiritual direction from the Franciscan Spirituality Center of La Crosse, Wis.

Michael Wells, ’82 (St. Petersburg, FL) is the athletic director and head boys basketball coach at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Fla. In the 2003-2004 season, Michael directed the team to the Florida High School 2A State Championship. He just completed his 26th year as a head coach accumulating 574 career victories, and being named Florida High School Coach of the Year.

James M. Brothen, ’83 (West Bend, WI) is a materials manager at Cramer Coil & Transformer Co., Inc. in Saukville, Wis.

Jeff Kuehl, ’85 (Greensburg, IN) moved to California upon graduation. While in Los Angeles, he starred in the film "Night Terror." For his work in theatre, Jeff was nominated by Backstage West magazine for a Robby Award within the category of Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. In Indiana, Jeff worked with The Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Theatre on the Square, The Indiana Repertory Theatre, and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. He also is a grant administrator and in charge of the volunteer program at the Columbus Area Arts Council in Columbus, Ind. He is currently serving his term as president of the Decatur County Youth Soccer Club. Jeff has been selected to be included in the upcoming edition of "Who’s Who in America."

Joy L. (Tetzlaff) Tobin, ’85 (Milwaukee, WI) and her husband, Michael, have three sons, Michael, 11, Brett, 10, and Evan, 7. Joy is a paralegal in general practice.

Mary R. (Wooden) Gordon, ’86 (Winona, MN) has been promoted to assistant vice president/product manager at Merchants Financial Group, Inc., Winona.

Barbara (Lano) Rummel, ’86 (Edina, MN) and her husband, Mike, have two children, Maria, 9, and Anna, 6. She is a partner at the Lindquist & Vennum Law Firm, focusing her law practice in the area of life sciences, dealing with mergers and acquisitions, finance and general corporate work. Barbara has been chosen for The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. Annually, the organization honors 40 business professionals based on their business accomplishments and community service – and, of course, they must be under age 40.

Jim & Kim (Pickering) Schmidt, '86 & ’02 (Winona, MN) and their sons, Hunter and Andrew, welcomed a new addition to the family, Benjamin Rost, in June 2004.

Pat Dillon, ’89 (Bloomington, MN) was named executive director of Minnesota Project Innovation, Inc., a private, non-profit economic development organization in Minneapolis, Minn.

Jeff Friedman, ’89 (Bainbridge Island, WA) and his wife, Amy, have two children, Jack, 5, and Jenny, 3. Jeff is a UNIX Systems administrator at Nordstrom, Inc.

Donald & Cheryl (Mathias) Jackson, ’89 & ’90 (Necedah, WI) have two daughters, Hannah, 5, and Sarah, 1. Donald taught two years of instrumental music in the Florida Keys before moving to Necedah, where he has been teaching instrumental and general music for the past 14 years. Cheryl is an elementary music teacher in New Lisbon, Wis. Donald and Cheryl would like to hear from music department alumni from the late 80’s. Their email address is dchjackson@tds.net.

Kurt Johnson, ’89 (White Bear Lake, MN) was elected vice president of the Minnesota State Auctioneer’s Association at its annual conference in Brainerd in January 2004. Kurt has 15 years experience in the auction industry and has carved his niche as the Midwest’s premier fundraising and corporate motivational auctioneer, helping his clients raise more than $20 million collectively. He also writes a monthly column for Auction World, a national publication; and was a featured presenter at the National Auctioneer’s Association Conference in Madison, Wis., in July 2004.

Angela (Brand) Modjeski, ’89 (Winona, MN) has been promoted to assistant cashier/personal banker at Merchants Bank of Winona.

Michael Veldman, ’89 (Austin, MN) was named Teacher of the Year 2004 for the Austin Public Schools. Michael has been teaching for 13 years. He represented the Austin district at the state level competition for Minnesota Teacher of the Year 2004.