Mark Peihl & Petra Gunderson-Leiseth, HCSCC Archives.

Moorhead Faces and Places

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

How time flies when you’re getting things done! The past 12 months have been packed with people and projects — faces and places marked by personal accomplishments and progress that make Moorhead the unique, dynamic community its 45,000 residents have come to know and love. Here, as the new year begins, is a look back at some of the headliners the Extra has shone a light on in the fleeting days of 2024.

Mark Peihl & Petra Gunderson-Leith: The man who knows more about Moorhead and Clay County than any other has stepped back from his archives in the Hjemkomst Center, while an enthusiastic young historian was named to carry on his work. Mark Peihl retired after nearly four decade as the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County’s resident history expert – decades in which he helped countless researchers and writers tease out tales of the 152 years since the Northern Pacific Railroad drew the first white settlers to the region. While he continues his own research in retirement, Petra, who grew up in Moorhead, took on the role of connecting today’s generations to a rich and colorful past. “Mark made these archives into the amazing resource they are today,” she acknowledges. “Researchers may be looking for something that seems like only a tidbit to others, but to them, it’s really important. It’s so rewarding to be able to help.”

Curt Cannon: Every one of the 5,000 identified veterans who call Clay County home has a place to to turn for a helping hand, thanks to Veterans Service Officer Curt Cannon and his staff. “When we can assist a veteran in understanding and finally receiving their benefits, it’s a reward in the highest degree,” Cannon reflects. “You talk to guys who once served their county, but now they don’t know what to do. No health care, maybe, or they’re going to lose their job or their house … and here, we may be able to get them the benefits they have coming. There’s no bigger kick than that.”

Danielle Charlson: Every day can be Laundry Day here in Moorhead since Danielle Charlson and husband Brian purchased East 10 Laundry almost 10 years ago. Moorhead’s only laundromat bustles with women and men. from college age to their senior years, arriving with baskets of dirty laundry and taking home fresh, folded armloads of clothing and linens. It’s a true family business, with the couple’s three adult children and Grandpa Gary pitching in as needed. The bright, sunny laundromats equipped with 30 washing machines,from super-industrial-sized units that handle 60-pound loads to machines for household-sized laundry baskets. While many customers lack washers and dryers of their own, others face other dilemmas: “We’re here to rescue you when your own washer doesn’t work,” Linda promises

Mark J. Lindquist: When Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Mark Lindquist left Moorhead to make a difference. “I didn’t know what I was going to do,” he admitted back then. “I just wanted to help.” And the former Air Force sergeant has done just that – not by fighting, but by supplying Ukrainian troops and civilians with what they need to go on, from medical supplies and vehicles to transport the wounded to drones and ambulance tires. The professional speaker and singer has raised nearly $3 million in the U.S. to purchase supplies, then organized aid convoys to deliver them. “If you watch the news from Ukraine, your heart hurts,” he said. “This is an opportunity for those of us who are free to do something good all over the world.”

Playing Around: Moorhead children gained two very special places to play this summer – the Inclusive Playground at Southwest Regional Park and the Rotary Natural Play Hill along the Red River. The Inclusive Playground is designed to delight children of every level of physical ability, giving them a spot where they too can work off their energy swinging, climbing, jumping and sliding to their hearts’ content. Fargo-Moorhead’s five Rotary clubs raised more than $1.2 million to find the entire play hill, where natural materials welcome kids to hills and pathways in an environment built of timber, boulders, rope and other abundant natural elements – an environment built for fresh-air play and plenty of “Vitamin N” (for Nature).

Rev. Paul Aladin: The Haitian-born pastor of Bridgepoint Community Church is bringing hope to the war-torn nation of Haiti, from where he emigrated more than 30 years ago. As the founder of United Hearts for Haiti, he has rallied support for education in the city of Cavaillon. Today the Train and Sustain Trades School is preparing hundreds of young adults for jobs to sustain their families, thanks to the support not only of local churches but religious groups and volunteers from throughout the tri-state area. Though Haiti is nation in vast disarray, he said, “Seeing these people and extending a hand to help them changes your heart.”

11th Street Underpass: Freight trains have divided Moorhead for hours a day since the city was born, but in 2024 that finally began to change with construction of the double underpasses on 11th Street. Projected to be complete in 2026, the first year of the Minnesota Department of Transportation project centered on First Avenue North, where the heavily traveled street crosses the tracks of the northernmost Hillsboro line operated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. While motorists grew accustomed to navigating detours, the Fire Department realigned its entrance and BNSF laid temporary tracks for its own bypass. 2025 will bring completion of the north end of the underpass along with construction where 11th Street intersects with Main Avenue. Crews will close Center Avenue in 2026 as they lope along toward the long-anticipated antidote to downtown traffic tie-ups, expected to be done that fall.

The First Graduation: After 150 years, young Moorhead Spuds graduated in a brand-spanking-new location in May. The Class of 2024 was the first to complete their senior year in the city’s new $142 million high school. In January, the entire student body of nearly 2,000 moved from the familiar old structure into the new facility, with its bright, sunny classrooms, airy gathering spaces, and new pool and gymnasium. Construction crews then began demolition of the school that had served the community since 1968. Its 1,000-seat theater, science and fine arts classrooms and administrative spaces will be ready to go in the 2025-2026 school year.

Pat Lenertz: Moorhead musician Pat Lenertz played his first gigs in a downtown coffee shop 25 years ago. Since then, he has become one of the area’s leading guitarists. After traveling the region with his bands, Bad Mojo and the Legionnaires, to performing solo and with the Pat Lenertz Band, he has maintained his love of music by night. By day, though, he makes a different kind of difference. As an independent clinical social worker with CCRI, he works with some 40 adults with a range of mental health diagnoses, from major depression and anxiety to OCD, schizophrenia and PTSD to help them improve their quality of life. “Some graduate out of our care. Some continue,” he said. “We celebrate when good things happen and stand with our clients when they fall.”

Community Center/Library: Moorhead’s newest site of civic pride began rising downtown on June 10, when city officials broke ground for the $41.5 million community center and regional library. By year’s end, underground work had been nearly completed and the very first column was erected south of the soon-to-be-demolished Center Mall. Two-thirds of Moorhead voters approved a half-cent sales tax in November 2022 to fund the 55,000-sq.-ft. facility, including new quarters for the public library, an indoor children’s playground, meeting rooms and a walking track – all features heavily favored by residents who spoke their minds during the development process. It’s expected to open in Spring 2026.

Troy & Diane DeLeon: The owners of Moorhead’s famous downtown Dairy Queen celebrated its 75th birthday in August with an epic Children’s Miracle Network campaign that raised some $75,000 for Sanford’s Children’s Hospital. The DeLeons have owned the local landmark for the past 35 years, purchasing it from founders Bob and Phyllis Litherland. Generations of young Moorheaders have been trained there, handing out tens of thousands of the Dilly Bars for which the store is famous. The DeLeons have supported community groups in other ways over the years as well, including donating funds for Clay County law enforcement officers’ annual distribution of treat coupons to youthful bicyclists “caught” wearing their helmets.

Kathy Anderson: For the past 35 years, the Trollwood Performing Arts School has been in Kathy Anderson’s blood – the last 15 as executive director of summer arts program, as well as Moorhead’s Bluestem Amphitheater, where it’s headquartered. That means balancing 12 youth art programs each summer, with 500 students of all ages and around 100 instructors and staff, plus 40 classes in production and the performing arts plus a main-stage musical involving at least 75 young people. “The rewards are so amazing,” she reports. “Getting to watch what Trollwood does for these kids – seeing it change the lives of so many – it has been just phenomenal. It makes every single day special.”

Maureen Kelly Jonason: Executive director Maureen Kelly Jonason has steered the course of Clay County’s history and culture since 2010, the year that two organizations joined to form the aptly named Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County. That means not only managing the county’s historical collections and museum, but also supporting programs that explain residents’ history and heritage to one another. She may be best-known for her impressive success rate in seeking – and receiving – the grants and donations that power many programs, from exhibits and the Pangea cultural festival to special publications like “Prairie Daughters,” a handsome biography of two early female artists. She cited financial stability as the legacy she most wants to leave the HCSCC – that and her management philosophy: “I hire good people, and then I get out of their way.”

Devlyn Brooks: When the board of Churches United for the Homeless acknowledged its dire need for funds and volunteers last summer, it turned to Devlyn Brooks. The pastor, who also serves Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, took over leadership of a program established by 11 churches 40 years ago … one that now shelters more than 100 men, women and children every night and feeds thousands. With the need growing, he called on the community for help in August, receiving $400,000 in donations in the two weeks after his appeal. He is working with Moorhead and Fargo leaders to find solutions to develop stable, reliable support to keep the doors open in the long term.

Janelle Leiseth: When Moorhead students and teachers need a helping hand, the Moorhead Legacy Education Foundation is there for them. Now Janelle Leiseth, who became its first executive director in mid-year, is working to create a perpetual endowment to insure it can continue to meet their needs. The nonprofit foundation awards scholarships to graduating seniors and awards Spud Impact Grants, filling educators’ requests for classroom tools and supplies not covered by the district’s budget, this year ranging from materials for welding students to build wheelchairs to OT equipment and grief counseling kits. The endowment’s $1.5 million goal is ambitious, but she expressed confidence that it can be met. “Our board understands and fully supports our mission,” the director said, adding, “They’re the key to telling our story.”