Kari Torkelson
and Dean Carlson
UMC Names Two Outstanding Alumni for 2001
The University of Minnesota, Crookston Alumni Association is pleased to announce its Outstanding Alumni Awards for the year 2001. These awards recognize alumni who have displayed exemplary commitment and service to their occupational field, community, education, place of worship, and family.
This year, the UMC Alumni Association has selected two alumni who have met the criteria in an outstanding fashion. They will be recognized as Outstanding Alumni during halftime at the UMC Homecoming Game on Saturday, September 29, 2001, and they and their families will be special guests during all Homecoming events.
This year’s honorees are Dean Carlson (’70) of Kennedy, Minn., and Kari Torkelson (attended ‘89-’91) of Grand Forks, N.D.
Dean Carlson
Dean Carlson is a 1970 graduate of UMC’s agriculture program. Following his graduation, he continued his studies at North Dakota State University (NDSU), where he received his bachelor of science degree in agriculture in 1972.
Carlson farms 5,000 acres near Kennedy, Minnesota. In addition to raising wheat, soybeans, and sugar beets, he serves as a regular columnist for The Farmer magazine. He is a former columnist for The Sugarbeet Grower, and he has done freelance writing for other publications including Successful Farming and the Grand Forks Herald. In addition, he has authored two books, So This is Farming and A Farmer’s View.
Carlson has also found time to memorize the Gospel of Mark and has presented it at various organizations and churches. He has served on numerous local governing boards and was recently elected to the Minnesota Wheat Council. Curt Almlie, Director of Alumni Relations, states, “Dean Carlson probably understands free trade better than most and can speak with wisdom about the farm crisis in northwestern Minnesota.”
Carlson and his wife, Carol, have four children, Melissa, Alan, Todd, and Andrew. Melissa is an NDSU graduate; Alan attended East Grand Forks Technical College; and Todd and Andrew are both in high school.
Kari Torkelson
Kari Torkelson, a native of Thief River Falls, attended UMC from 1989-1991. Her major areas of study were in the arts and sciences. Torkelson continued her studies in zoology at North Dakota State University from 1991-1993. In 1993, she entered Indiana University’s School of Optometry, earning a bachelor of science degree in 1995 and completing a Doctor of Optometry Degree in 1997.
Torkelson is currently an optometrist and practices her profession with Dr. Jeffery B. Yunken and Associates in Grand Forks, North Dakota. She works with diagnosing, treating, and managing diseases and disorders of the eye and related systemic conditions. She has authored an article, “Normal Tension Glaucoma and Central Corneal Thickness,” for the August 1999 issue of Optometry and Vision Science.
Jerry Knutson, associate professor of biology at UMC, recalls that Torkelson was an outstanding student and also participated very competitively in women’s athletics. He says, “Kari is an outstanding individual and has done extremely well in her chosen profession.”
Torkelson maintains her membership in both the North Dakota Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association. She lives in Grand Forks.
Posted 09/25/2001
Contact: Andrew Svec,
218-281-8435