Published On: August 3rd, 2009

By: Tim Beasley

Saturday evening I was in Alexandria for a double-header with the Beetles and Duluth Huskies. That night members of the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks front office and their mascot Hawkeye were guests of the Beetles. The Redhawks are a professional team in the independent Northern League and are located a couple hours north of Alexandria. Two members of the Redhawks front office, Karl Hoium, Director of Group Sales, and Michael Larson, Director of Ticket Sales, were interns with Alexandria in 2006 and 2005 when I was with the Beetles organization. Karl is a good friend of mine from high school and he went on to become the Assistant General Manager for the Beetles in 2007 before moving on to the Redhawks. Michael spent a couple years with the Idaho Falls Chukars minor league team before coming to Fargo. Karl and Michael are two great examples of how the NWL develops more than just players. Other interns during my three years in Alexandria (’04-’06) who have gone on to hold full time positions in sports are:
 
Chad Cardinal (’05), Group Sales Executive; Minnesota Lynx/Timberwolves (WNBA)
Nic Barlage (’04), Account Executive, Premium Sales; Charlotte Bobcats (NBA)
Curt Carstensen (’02-’06), Director of Operations; Northwoods League
Jeremy Aagard (’04), Assistant General Manager; Fayetteville SwampDogs (Coastal Plain Summer Collegiate League)

Aagard, Barlage and Hoium all moved into the Assistant GM role with Alexandria following their internships. Riley Gostisha was a Beetles player in 2001 and became the Assistant GM in 2004 and now holds the same position for the Beloit (WI) Snappers, the Minnesota Twins Class A affiliate.

I know most NWL teams can boast of similar success with their interns moving on to full time positions within sports and the NWL.

Several General Managers in the NWL began as interns. Ryan Voz in St. Cloud/Brainerd and Vern Stenman in Madison, two of the best, got their starts as interns with the River Bats. Marc Jerzak (St. Cloud/Brainerd) and Kyle Mrozek (Mankato) were interns together during the Beetles inaugural season of 2001 and became GMs in relatively quick fashion. All seven members of the Madison Mallards full-time staff are former NWL interns, five of them with Madison. I’m sure there are others I failed to mention. I’ll follow up with all of the teams to complete this list of former Northwoods League interns that are now making a living working in sports.

For college students who are looking to work in sports the NWL provides valuable experience and is a proven stepping-stone to a great career!

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