ALLETE, Inc.

Kathleen Brekken joined the board of directors of the Duluth-based energy services and real estate holding company. The University of Minnesota graduate was president and CEO of Midwest of Cannon Falls for nearly 20 years before retiring in 2003. She served on the ALLETE board of directors from 1997 to 2003.

Architectural Resources, Inc.

Tari Rayala, of the Hibbing-based architectural firm’s Duluth office, is newly registered as a licensed architect by the Minnesota State Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design. She will be licensed in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Area Partnership for Economic Development (APEX)

Jack LaVoy joined the economic development team as senior consultant and director of economic expansion. LaVoy was director of marketing, communications and external affairs for Iron Range Resources in Eveleth. He also served in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

DSGW Architects

The Duluth architectural firm promoted staff members Jody Phenning, AIA and Eric Wedge, AIA to associate firm leaders.Phenning has lead design teams through master planning for projects including Grand Rapids Middle School, Fortune Bay Casino, Villas at Giants Ridge, and Nett Lake School and Clinics.

Wedge is planning and zoning administrator for the city of Gilbert and president of the Northern Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Ayres Associates

The Eau Claire, WI-based architectural and engineering consulting firm hired Steven Slivensky, PLS, as land survey supervisor in the Duluth office. He has six years of project experience in the consumer products industry and 10 years of consulting and land surveying experience.

The firm also hired civil/environmental engineer Nancy Graham, PE, a registered professional engineer in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Braun Intertec Corp.

Mark W. Gothard, an associate principal with the Minneapolis-based environmental consulting and engineering firm, received his professional engineer designation. Gothard is the primary engineer for many of Braun Intertec Corp.’s northern Minnesota clients and manages geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing in the company’s Hibbing office.

Bremer Bank

Duane Gasperini joined the Washburn branch of the St. Paul-based financial services corporation. The Northland College graduate is a 15-year veteran of the industry and was branch manager for Associated Bank in Washburn.

City of Hurley

Renovation of Silver Street is slated to be complete this fall. The project fulfills implementation of Project Good START, the city’s passage of a comprehensive land use plan and a recent downtown business survey.

Partners in the project include UW-Extension Resource Development Agent Will Andresen, Iron County Resource Development Association Director Kelly Klein, Hurley City Council member Michelle Fink and NWCSA Economic Development Coordinator Jeff Van Hooser.

Kraus-Anderson Construction

The Minneapolis-based construction firm hired Kelly Davidson as project manager for the Duluth office. Davidson was a project manager with Northstar Fire Protection in Eagan, MN. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Duluth Entertainment Convention Center

Dennis Medjo, who directed operations of the William A. Irvin tourist ship and the Duluth Omnimax Theatre for 13 years, retired in August. Medjo had 16 years experience in the movie exhibition business, including 14 years with AMC Theatres, when he started at the DECC in 1993. The Duluth native managed construction of the Omnimax in 1996.

Essentia Health

The Duluth-based company named Michael J. Mahoney vice president of government affairs. He will work on state and national health care policy and advocate for issues affecting the Benedictine Health System and the SMDC Health System, the two organizations that partnered to form Essentia Health. The attorney was employed by Fryberger, Buchanan, Smith & Frederick law firm in Duluth.

Junior League of Duluth

The Duluth women’s nonprofit named the following to the 2006-07 board: Diana Dalton, president; Joann Mattson, president-elect; Lynne Bauer, recording secretary/arrangements chair; Cathy Wolff, director of membership; Suzanne Rauvola, director of community council; Cammy Hansen, director of finance; Andrea Altmann, director of communications; Lisa Tarnowski, nominating and placement chair.

Sustaining members Denise Bussa and Nancy Westman became advisory board members.

Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College

The Cloquet college announced a new 22-credit Clean Energy Technician Certificate program, available to students beginning Fall 2006. The program trains technicians for the advancing industry of clean technologies in homes, small businesses, and communities.

Lake Superior College

The Duluth college hired Rob Waksdah as director of business services.

He was the bursar/credit manager at the University of Wisconsin-Superior for six years.

Suzanne Olsen joined the business staff as accountant. She was finance director for the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project for six years.

LHB, Inc.

The Duluth-based design firm hired the following at its Duluth office: architect Brandee Ness Lian, structural engineer Jeremy Clark, land survey group leader Ray Bozlee, engineering intermediate technician Grant Neitzel, and engineering technician Adam Lilyquist.

Certified interior designer Jill Isola Johnson and civil engineer

Daniel Shaw, both of the Duluth office, attained U.S. Green Building Council accreditation for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Merrill Lynch

Timothy C. Sieh of the financial services firm’s Duluth office, completed the Chartered Financial Consultant program and received a ChFC designation. Sieh has been with Merrill Lynch’s Duluth office for 16 years.

Monaco Air Duluth

Ryan Flaherty was hired as quality control supervisor at the Duluth aviation facility. He has worked in the Duluth aviation industry and served in the Army National Guard for the past six years, including tours of duty in Bosnia and Iraq.

Odyssey Development

The Duluth resort developer hired Barbara Swenson and Martin Pettersson to handle marketing for Grand Superior Lodge, Caribou Highlands Lodge, and Larsmont Cottages on Lake Superior. Odyssey created a new marketing position for new development, which was filled by Cindy Rodenhizer, the company’s former resort marketing director. Robin Bucholz was hired as general manager for Trapper’s Landing Lodge and Margarita Mulligan’s on Leech Lake.

Oliver Companies Inc.

The Duluth-based real estate and hospitality management company hired John Hartwick of Duluth as field operations manager. Hartwick was the general manager of Grand Superior Lodge in Two Harbors and a member of the Two Harbors Area Chamber of Commerce.

St. Luke’s

The Duluth health system hired Rolene Lampi as director of business services. Lampi holds a master’s degree in health services administration from the University of St. Francis. She was director of acute business services at St. Mary’s/Duluth Clinic Health System.

Michelle Bohlman was hired as a plastic surgery associate. She received a medical aesthetician license from the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis.

St. Mary’s/Duluth Clinic Health System (SMDC)

The following physicians joined the Duluth Clinic:

• Neurointerventional radiologist Eugene Kang, MD, treats complex aneurysms and blood vessel abnormalities in the brain.

• Neurosurgeon Nancy Ensley, MD, specializes in disorders of the neck and spine.

• Specialist Patricia O’Day, MD, is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and the subspecialty of maternal-fetal medicine.

• Cardiologist Julia Montgomery, MD, specializes in electrophysiology, the electrical activity of the heart.

• Orthopedic trauma surgeon Jefferson Davis, DO, comes from the United States Army.

• Oncologist Lloyd Ketchum, III, MD, comes from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where he was chief of the Department of Blood Research.

• Psychiatrist Tamara Dolenc, MD, MS is a recipient of the 2005 Laughlin Fellowship Award from the American College of Psychiatrists.

• Interns Gina Slipka-Marinos, MD, and Antonio Marinos, MD, received medical degrees at the Universidad Central del Este in the Dominican Republic.

University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth

Richard Eisenberg, Ph.D., received the Distinguished Service Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, an award bestowed only four times since it was established in 1929. Eisenberg is a founding faculty member of the Duluth medical school, became acting department head in 1977.

• Kim Parmeter -8/31/2010
• Craig Kuske, P.E., S.E. -8/31/2010
• Barb Johnson -8/31/2010
• Doug Aretz -8/31/2010
• Shawna Jokinen -8/31/2010