The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball program announced the hiring of Clarke Peterson as assistant coach. Peterson returns to the Golden Eagles after serving as an assistant coach for Minnesota Crookston during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Peterson played for Coach Steve Gust and the Golden Eagles from 2016-20.
Peterson most recently was the pitching director and assistant club director for Pinetar Baseball Academy in Brooklyn park, Minn. He specialized in pitching, catching, hitting, and fielding. Prior to his appointment at Pinetar Baseball Academy, Peterson served as the Sanford Power hitting coordinator. “We are thrilled to have Clarke back with us,” Gust stated. “He is a versatile coach who has an extensive background in exercise science and biomechanics. He will work on player development throughout the year with all players. He also has a passion for Minnesota Crookston baseball and this institution. He is a great fit for our continuing development of this program.”
Peterson coached two seasons for the Golden Eagles, assisting with primarily the pitchers and strength and conditioning. In his two seasons, Minnesota Crookston won 56 games, including a program record 38 wins. The 2023 team made the NSIC Tournament, and was just one game shy of the Championship. During his time as assistant coach, the Golden Eagles had six players named All-NSIC including Jake Hjelle being named NSIC Player of the Year, Josh Dykhoff Freshman of the Year, Mike Hallquist Newcomer of the Year, and Alex Koep Pitcher of the Year. Hjelle, Hallquist, Koep, and Jake Dykhoff were all all-region selections. Hjelle was the Region Player of the Year, an All-American, and the NCBWA National Player of the Year. Koep and Hallquist were also named All-America, while Koep was the D2CCA All-Region Pitcher of the Year.
Prior to his return to Minnesota Crookston, Peterson spent one season in 2021 as the assistant coach at Northland Community and Technical College. Northland hit .296 as a team during the 2021 season, with 105 runs scored, 27 doubles, 17 home runs, and 95 RBIs. On the mound, they had 110 strikeouts to 81 walks.
As a player, Peterson played as both a catcher and pitcher for the Golden Eagles. He was a team leader during his time with UMN Crookston. As a junior in 2019, Peterson appeared in seven games and started two. Peterson made one appearance on the mound in 2020, pitching one shutout inning, with one hit and a strikeout.
Peterson earned his bachelor’s degree from Minnesota Crookston in 2020.
The Gala for Girls is set for Friday, April 25 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Crookston Inn.
Girls in grades K-6, this is your night! Bring your dad, grandpa, uncle, or adult male role model and register now for this unforgettable evening. The event includes a professional picture, social and sit-down dinner, special gift, and an evening of dancing.
Registration will be open until filled and will close on Friday, April 18 at noon. Pre-registration is required, and tickets typically sell out. The cost to attend is $45 per couple ($15 for each additional girl).
The University of Minnesota Libraries recently published an open-access book called “Power of One: Theories, Strategies, and Case Studies in Internationalizing the Student Experience.” The book features several submissions from the University of Minnesota Crookston faculty, including Associate Professor Katy Chapman, Ph.D., Professor Joseph Shostell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Al Fattal Anas, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Brian Dingmann, Ph.D. Professor Katy Chapman and University of Duluth Professor David Beard, Ph.D., edited the book.
The book is a collection of submissions that demonstrate the Power of One. “This book is about strategies for internationalizing higher education, and its purpose is a couple of fold,” says Associate Professor Katy Chapman. “One, to have international educators and educators in general see that you can do this in your class even if you are not studying abroad, you can bring international perspectives and cultural perspectives into your classes.”
Chapman says the book’s other purpose is to honor Gayle Woodruff’s legacy. “Gayle Woodruff, who retired from the University of Minnesota, was the head of International Teaching and Learning. She is the person who made this possible for me and for David and Brian. She created this cohort program where we learned these skills, we applied them to our classes, and like Brian and I, we applied to an entire program,” says Chapman. “So, we were able to provide our students with this intercultural learning.”
Not only did Chapman submit her own chapters for the book, but she was also one of the book editors and provided a beautiful cover photo. “I am one of the book’s editors. We sent emails soliciting people to write chapters, we wrote chapters, we wrote the introduction, we edited all the chapters, says Chapman. “Lots of stuff.”
As mentioned, a few other professors from the University of Minnesota Crookston were a part of this book. “Katy, Joseph Shostell, and I collaborated on a chapter entitled, “Lessons Learned Internationalizing the Environmental Sciences and Biology Programs,” says Professor Brian Dingmann. “The three of us teach in Biology and Environmental Science, and it was just kind of a reflection, like Katy said, trying to make it understandable how anybody could sort of start this process. You can start small and then kind of add to your classes, and then eventually we had gotten to a point where we had been incorporating this into our different classes where we were like, we should try to internationalize our program.”
Dingman says, like Chapman, he went through the same cohort that Gayle Woodriff had set up, so he feels that he wanted to internationalize himself from day one. He says he grew up in Minnesota and didn’t see many opportunities to study abroad, so bringing an international perspective and global competence into the classroom was really important to him. “Our chapter is really a reflection on what we have learned in this process,” says Dingmann. “And how people can basically start their own process just with their single course and potentially expand that into a program.”
Assistant Professor in the Business Department at the University of Minnesota Crookston, Al Fattal Anas, Ph. D. also wrote an essay for The Power of One. “I introduce myself as a Global Citizen. I was born in Africa, raised in Asia, educated in Europe, and now I’m in the US,” says Anas. “With this kind of international experience, I always think that introducing this international experience to the students here in Crookston is a very important thing that we need to work on.”
Anas says he has been working on several projects that internationalize the business and marketing content of his programs at the University of Minnesota. The essay Anas submitted for the book “Marketing Across Cultures” was one of many submitted geared towards how international education can enhance curriculum across diverse disciplines. “In my chapter, I actually summarized the kind of experience the students have of collaborating with students from Brazil,” says Anas. “Very simply, my students imagined that they needed to launch a new product in Brazil. So, what they do is they have interviews with students from Brazil in order to understand the consumers in Brazil and the market there. Based on this understanding they will have to do some kind of modifications on this product to match this new market.” Anas says that throughout the chapter, he tries to draw on the lessons learned and ways to move on with this initiative to have better experiences.
Chapman says the book was meant to reach educators and share ideas they may want to apply to their classrooms. It is also readily available. “It’s available online; you can read it fully online, or you can download it as a PDF,” says Chapman. “Also, on that webpage, there is a link to go out to a printing service, so if you want to have a physical copy of it, you can order one.” If you want to have a printed copy of the book, you are just paying the printing cost of around $16. Being an open-access book, though, anyone can read this book at no cost online. Visit https://open.lib.umn.edu/powerofone/
Gladys Laverne Opperud, 94, of Crookston, Minnesota, passed away on Thursday, March 6, 2025. She was born to loving parents Henry and Christine (Abrahamson) Meine, on February 23, 1931.
A prayer service will be held at Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home in Crookston on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. with visitation two hours prior. The funeral service will be held on Friday, March 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one-hour prior, at Wesley United Methodist Church in Crookston. Interment will be on Friday, following the funeral service. Services will be livestreamed, the link to which will be available at www.stenshoelhouske.com/obituaries/gladys-opperud
Kathleen (Kay) Miller, 95, of Crookston, passed away on Thursday, March 6, 2025, surrounded by her family. Born to loving parents, Mary and Joseph Kraemer on January 6, 1930.
Kay is survived by her five children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Sister Anne Marie Geray, age 97, died peacefully on March 7, 2025 at Villa St. Vincent, Crookston, MN.
She was born on August 10, 1928 in Beaulieu, MN, the second of six children of Alphonse M. Geray and Anne Catherine (Kirsch) Geray. At baptism she was given the name Janet Mary.
She attended Flowing Well Grade School in Mahnomen, MN and Mahnomen High School. She earned a bachelor of science degree in home economics from the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN and became the secretary/office manager for the county extension agent for Clay and Mahnomen Counties. Janet entered Mount Saint Benedict Monastery on August 15, 1955. She received the Benedictine habit and the name Sister Anne Marie on July 2, 1956, made temporary vows the next year and perpetual vows on July 11, 1960. Sister Anne Marie was life-long learner. She attended selected courses at the College of St. Scholastica, St. John’s University and the University of Minnesota Crookston. In 1966, she earned a Master of Arts in Guidance and Counseling from the College of St. Thomas.
Sister Anne Marie contributed in many ways over the years. She was an elementary teacher in Lefor, ND, a high school teacher and counselor at Mount St. Benedict Academy, and a religious education coordinator in several parishes. She said her favorite assignment was as director of Mount St. Benedict Center who promoted outreach programs, the Ministry School for Religious Education and introduced Elderhostel programs. She twice organized and directed a Benedictine Renewal Program at the Mount. She was instrumental in establishing the oblate program for Mount Saint Benedict Monastery and served as director for a number of years. From 2005 to 2011 she served the community as its subprioress.
Sister enjoyed crafts, collecting things and making something “artsy” things with them. She like to read, sew, hike and grow things. She photographed and documented the construction of the 2015 Mount building.
Sister Anne Marie had a low-key and graceful way of making the lives of her sisters easier and enjoyable. “Well,” she said, “I always felt like I fit in.”
Preceding her in death are her parents, Alphonse M. Geray and Anne Catherine (Kirsch) Geray, her step-mother, Marie Geray and brothers John and James. She is survived by brothers Walter and George Geray, a sister, Rosalyn Bauer (Mrs. Marcus Bauer), many nieces and nephews and the Sisters of St. Benedict of Crookston.
Funeral services for Sister Anne Marie Geray will be held Wednesday, March 19 in Sacred Heart Chapel, Mount Saint Benedict, Crookston, MN.
Prayer Service: 11:00 a.m.
Mass of Christian Burial: 2:00 p.m. Celebrant: Bishop Andrew Cozzens.
Internment in Mount Saint Benedict Cemetery in late spring. Arrangements by Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home, Crookston, Minnesota. Services will be livestreamed, the link to which can be found by going to www.stenshoelhouske.com/obituaries and following the prompts to Sister Anne’s page.
The defending Section 8A Champion and State runner-up Fertile-Beltrami Falcons take on the Kelliher/Northome Mustangs in the Section 8A quarterfinals at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls. Fertile-Beltrami is 23-5 on the year while Kelliher/Northome is 15-12.
The Kittson County Central Bearcats’ Ty Vig scored 30 points as they dominated the Cass Lake-Bena Panthers in a 78-47 victory in the Section 8A Boys Basketball quarterfinals at Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
FIRST HALF – Cass Lake-Bena had a good start to the game and took a 5-2 lead before Kittson County Central answered with an 11-0 run. Ty Vig, the University of North Dakota Football commit, scored nine straight points with a basket, an offensive rebound and putback, a three-pointer, and another basket in the paint. The run was capped with a Kellen Johnson offensive rebound and basket for a 13-5 lead.Cass Lake-Bena stopped the run with a basket before the Bearcats answered with a 7-0 run with an Eli Peterson basket, a Brody Scalese three-pointer, and after a KCC steal, they finished the run with another Peterson basket for a 20-7 lead with 11:36 to go in the half. It looked like KCC was going to blow the game open, but Cass Lake-Bena answered with an 8-0 run behind a pair of three-pointers and a basket to get within a 20-15 deficit halfway through the half. KCC bounced back with baskets from Vig and Peterson for a 24-15 lead. Cass Lake-Bena got within a 26-21 deficit before the Bearcats Vig went on an 8-2 run to end the half and Kittson County Central took a 34-22 lead into halftime. Vig led all scorers with 21 points at halftime.
SECOND HALF – Kittson County Central had a tremendous start to the second half as they started on an 18-5 run in the first six minutes. It started with a Brody Scalese basket, four points from Johnson, a Brock Scalese three-pointer, and a basket by Vig. After a Cass Lake-Bena basket, KCC responded with a Peterson three-pointer and after a Panther three-pointer, the Bearcats Vig and Peterson added baskets for a 52-27 lead with 11:42 remaining. Cass Lake-Bena scored four points before KCC answered with six points as Johnson scored four and Ashton Knutson added a basket for a 58-31 lead. KCC continued their dominance as they pulled away for a 78-47 victory.
Kittscon County Central improves to 21-7 on the year and will play Fertile-Beltrami in the Section 8A semi-finals on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. at the Ralph Englestad Arena. Cass Lake-Bena ends the season with a 15-13 record.
Listen to postgame comments from KCC head coach Trent Jerome:
A recent string of warm weather means many ice shelters already have been removed from inland waters in the northern one-third of the state. Anglers who still have a fish house on the ice should plan ahead to ensure they meet the March 17 removal deadline.
The DNR reminds all fish house owners to pick up and properly dispose of any trash as part of hauling their shelter off the ice.
“We urge everyone to have a plan in place and consider removing their shelters early if they have any concerns about being able to meet the deadline,” said Capt. Mike Martin, DNR Enforcement northeast region manager. “While many lakes may have 20 or more inches of ice, ice along shorelines – or cracks elsewhere – tend to open first and make removal especially difficult.”
If shelters aren’t removed by the deadline, owners may be prosecuted, and structures may be confiscated and removed or destroyed by a conservation officer. Shelters may not be left at public accesses, and no trash or other materials – including wooden blocking materials – may be left on the ice. Anglers can still use their shelters after the deadline so long as the shelter has the proper identification and licensing and, if it’s on the ice between midnight and an hour before sunrise, is occupied or attended.
As they venture out, anglers always should keep in mind that ice conditions vary widely, that ice is never 100% safe, and that they should check the ice thickness for themselves.
The final removal deadline is March 31 and applies to fish houses on Minnesota/Canada border waters.
