By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Four people will have their names etched among the greatest athletes and contributors in New York Mills School history as part of the NY Mills School Hall of Fame ceremony next weekend. 

John Karvonen, Mary Lee Legried, Dana Patsie Rutten and Clyde Gimbel will join 18 previous inductees in the school hall of fame. 

The induction ceremony is set for Friday, Sept. 25 at the NY Mills City Hall Ballroom and will begin at 8:30 p.m. The event is free to attend and open to the public. In addition to the induction ceremony, the honorees will be recognized at halftime of the NY Mills Eagles football game. The game will get underway a bit earlier than normal at 6 p.m.

The NY Mills Hall of Fame began in 2019 with five inductees and held its most recent induction ceremony last April when five additional people received the honor. Past inductees include: 

2019: Janet Karvonen, John Mark, Michael Parta, Ted Rud, Ralph Smith

2021: Todd Ericksrud, John Klinnert, Dean Salo, Kim Salathe

2023: Paul Jokela, Howard Lund, Dean Simpson, 1977 GBB Team

2025: Joel Kumpula, Howard Legried, Terry Weller, 1973 girls basketball team, Richard Ericksrud

Anyone who is interested in nominating an individual, or a past team, for the Hall of Fame can contact the NY Mills School District office for a nomination form. Organizers encourage those who make a nomination to include as much information as possible about the nominee. 

John Karvonen

A four-sport athlete for NY Mills, John Karvonen became the first person in school history to score 1,000 career points on the basketball court. He was a four-time letter winner in basketball, being named as all-conference MVP in both his junior and senior years, while also serving as a team captain and team MVP. He finished with 1,038 career points, which was before the 3-point line. 

He was also a three-time letter winner in track where he participated in the 400-meter, 800-meter, one-mile and many team relays. In his junior year he set a school record in the mile, eventually placing third in state. 

Karvonen was a three-time letter winner in cross country and set seven course records. He also became a member of the Clyde Gimbel 500-mile club and became the only NY Mills cross country member to advance to state where he placed eighth. 

He was also a letter winner in baseball, as well as marching, concert and jazz bands as first trumpet in all three groups. Karvonen was a National Honor Student, Boy Scout, M club member, as well as being named a 1975 high school all-American and listed in the “Who’s Who Among American High School Students” list.

After graduating from high school in 1976, Karvonen played basketball at MSUM and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame as a member of the 1980 basketball team that finished 21-9 and was NIC champions. The team was the first one in MSUM history to advance to the NAIA National Championships.

After graduating from college in 1980, he went on to own/operate Karvonen and Son’s Inc. and has been heavily involved in community organizations like the Perham Jaycees, Perham Rotary Club and Paul Harris Fellowship.

Mary Lee Legried

A 1984 graduate from NY Mills High School, Mary Lee Legried was a two-sport standout for NY Mills High School in both tennis and basketball. She was a four-time letter winner in tennis and advanced to state three times. 

She served as tennis captain three times and was team MVP in both her junior and senior seasons. She accumulated an impressive 60-18 record overall.

In basketball Legried was a member of the 1981 and 1982 state basketball teams and was named to the all-conference team in 1983 and 1984. She was named as team captain and MVP in 1983 and collected 871 points, 600 assists and 259 steals. Her 600 career assists, as well as assists per game of 10.1 during the 1983-84 season are both school records. 

As an 11-year-old Legried made national headlines as she won the Elks National Hoop Shoot Contest in Kansas City, Mo., becoming the first person from Minnesota to do so. In fact, only five Minnesota athletes have won the Elks national hoop shoot since 1972.

After high school, Legried went on to star for Concordia College in Moorhead on both their tennis and basketball teams. She helped the Cobbers finish as the Division III runner up in 1987 and as champions in 1988. She was named to the MIAC all-conference team in 1987 and 1988 and holds the MIAC game, season and assists records with 328 single season assists and 926 career assists. 

Legried was inducted into the Concordia College Hall of Fame as an individual in 1998, as well as a team member in 2008. 

After graduating from Concordia with a BA in 1988, she earned her Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Minnesota and has since served as a family physician to the local communities of NY Mills, Ottertail, Wadena and Sebeka for the past 30 years.

Dana Patsie Rutten

A 1984 graduate from NY Mills High School, Dana Patsie Rutten was a two-sport athlete for the Eagles where she starred as a member of the basketball and volleyball teams. 

A four-time letter winner in basketball, Rutten finished with 1,436 carer points, which is seventh best in school history, as well as 1,202 career rebounds (fifth in school history) and 284 career blocks (second in school history). She was also part of three state tournament teams in 1980, 1981 and 1982 and was named all-state in 1982 by the Associated Press and the Minnesota State Girls Basketball Coaches Association.

In 1984 she was an all-American honorable mention, as well as Minnesota Out-State All-Star team member. Rutten was also named as the Park Region Conference MVP in both her junior and senior years and was co-captain her senior season.

On the volleyball court, Rutten was a four-time letter winner, a two-time Park Region Conference selection and served as co-captain both her junior and senior year. During her volleyball career, Rutten helped three different teams win the Park Region Conference, finished as District 24 runner-up twice and a state tournament appearance in 1981. In her final three years on the team the Eagles finished with a 50-15 record. 

Rutten went on to play college basketball for North Dakota State University where she helped to guide the team to a 97-24 record and advanced to three NCAA tournaments, including a pair of NCAA Division II Final Four appearances and a pair of North Central Conference titles. 

During her time with the Bison she was named a Kodak All-American first team and All-North Central Conference first time in 1988. She was also named as a three-time academic All-NCC selection and finished with 1,142 points and 809 rebounds in 99 career games. She was co-captain her senior year and was also inducted into the NDSU Hall of Fame.

Clyde Gimbel

To say long-time educator Clyde Gimbel left his mark on the NY Mills track program would be a vast understatement. As head coach for over 30 years, Gimbel coached 76 individual and relay team conference champions, 23 regional/section champions and coached 32 state entrants over his time coaching the Eagles. He also coached 23 state place winners, including state champion Todd Ericksrud in the 800-meter run, and three time state champion Ted Rud in the triple jump (twice) and the long jump.

He was named as the District 24 coach of the year in 1982 and the conference coach of the year in 2004. 

Out of the 27 school track record holders, 26 of them were under the guidance of Gimbel as head coach. 

During his time as head coach Gimbel won four conference championships (1978, 1980, 1982 and 2004), three District 24 third place finishes (1979, 1982, 1984) and the District 24 and Region 6A runner up (1980). At the state level, the Eagles placed sixth as a team in 1985 and third as a team in 2005. 

In addition to his time as head track coach, Gimbel served as cross country coach and coached basketball at various levels throughout the years. 

In the classroom, Gimbel taught driver’s education in NY Mills for 36 years and before coming to NY Mills he graduated from MSUM where he ran track and qualified for nationals in the mile relay. 

Gimbel served in the Air Force for four years with stints in San Antonio, Denver, Idaho, Thailand and England.