Moorhead High School graduates August Droege and David Ness along with former MAPS Employees Rose Andersen and Karin Schumacher and former Moorhead School Board member Curt Borgen will be inducted into the Moorhead High School Hall of Honor for 2024.
The Inductees join 91 members previously inducted into the Hall of Honor. The Moorhead High School Hall of Honor recognizes alumni, faculty, staff and other community members who have demonstrated notable accomplishments or provided significant contributions to their school, community or society.
The 2024 MHS Hall of Honor Inductee Brunch will be held on Saturday, October 5, at 10:30 a.m. at the MAPS Operations Center, 1313 30th Ave. S. Tickets can be purchased online at www.moorheadschools.org/tix, by calling 218-284-2345 or emailing mwendt@moorheadschools.org.
“One of the great things about the MHS Hall of Honor is that it celebrates everyone, not just alumni, who have made positive contributions to our schools and our community. The 2024 class exemplifies this ideal, with alumni and former staff and administrators all honored under the same banner,” said Dave Lawrence, Hall of Honor coordinator and MHS administrator.

Rose Andersen
Rose Andersen began her career at Moorhead Schools in 1969, when she was tasked with establishing the Adult Educational Program. Over her 26 years with Moorhead Schools, she played a pivotal role in introducing numerous MAPS initiatives to the Moorhead community, including: the Community Education program, Early Childhood Education program, Adult Basic Education, Arts Programs, Community Resource Programs and Youth Development. Rose was involved in various organizations and held leadership positions within the Moorhead community and the Minnesota Technical College system. Her contributions were recognized with several awards, most notably being named the YWCA Woman of the Year in Education in 1987. In addition to her work within Moorhead Schools, Rose taught part time at the University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University, where she achieved tenure as an assistant professor. After her noteworthy career with Moorhead Schools, Rose retired in 1995. She resided in Moorhead for 55 years before relocating to St. Paul in December 2023 to be closer to her daughters and their families.

Curt Borgen
Curt Borgen has been active in Moorhead Area Public Schools district since 1963. Over the years, Borgen served on the Moorhead School Board, Minnesota State High School League, Moorhead Technical College Governing Board and several Clay County and District 152 task forces. Curt and his wife Betty raised 5 children in the Moorhead school district, remarkably throughout the 60 years of his career he has had at least one child, grandchild, or great grandchild enrolled in Moorhead Schools every school year. Curt and Betty are well-known for their unwavering support of the Spuds and rarely miss a Moorhead schools event. They have been recognized multiple times as “Moorhead Spuds Best Fans.” Curt retired in 2012 and still resides in Moorhead and at the age of 90 he continues to volunteer and serve the community and is an active member of Triumph Lutheran Brethren Church and Moorhead Vikingland Kiwanis.

August Droege
August Droege graduated from Moorhead High School in 1974. After graduating from MHS, she attended Concordia College in Moorhead, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and then attended the University of Oregon for her Ph.D in Physical Chemistry. August dedicated 37 years of her career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in northern California’s Bay Area, which aims to stem the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. The focus of Droege’s career in this field was understanding proliferation signatures and signature utility, optical spectroscopy and optimization of signature collection. She and her team have been instrumental in developing simulations and models to understand the signatures activity and develop systems for sensor exploitation. Droege was honored and recognized for many awards during her career, most notably CIA Meritorious Unit Citation which she received in 2002. After a successful career August retired in 2015 and resides in Montana with her husband Michael.

David Ness
Dave Ness, also known as “Smiley” graduated from Moorhead High in 1970. After graduating, Ness attended Concordia College in Moorhead, where he earned a degree in biology and was a member of the football team. He then attended the University of Minnesota Medical School and specialized in Family Practice. Throughout his career Dave received multiple awards, most notably the “Best Original Research Award” from Minnesota medicine in 1984 for his publication on Lumbar Laminectomy Follow-up. Ness attributes his personal and professional success from the support and guidance he received from the Moorhead community, particularly from the coaches and principals who he notably said were always there to talk and always encouraged him. After a distinguished 40 year career, Dave retired in 2023 and resides in Minneapolis.

Karin Schumacher
Karin Schumacher started her career with Moorhead Schools in 1977, taking on the roles of head volleyball and basketball coach at MHS. Over her impressive 39-year coaching career and 30-year teaching career at MHS, she made significant contributions to Moorhead athletics and education. Throughout her career, Schumacher coached MHS Spud volleyball, basketball, softball (a program that she helped start in 1984) and golf; she also served as a middle school volleyball assistant coach for 10 seasons. All in all, she coached 58 combined seasons for the Spuds. In 1985, Karin began teaching math at MHS, where she taught a variety of classes including algebra, geometry, precalculus and honors trigonometry. Her dedication and leadership extended beyond the classroom as she served as a Math Department chair for several years. Karin’s excellence in coaching was recognized through multiple honors and awards, most notably being named a two time Minnesota Volleyball Coach of the Year. Her Volleyball teams reached the state finals five times, including winning the state championship in 1988; she also coached one state champion golfer. After a successful career at Moorhead high Karin retired in 2015 and resides in Moorhead with her wife Becky.
The nominations committee is now considering candidates for 2025. Nomination forms are available at www.moorheadschools.org/honor or Moorhead High School. Nominations may be submitted online by January 17, 2025.