Marie and her husband, Dale, live on a farm northeast of Browerville. They have two grown sons and eight grandchildren.

Marie was employed at CentraCare Long Prairie since 1976. She was manager of surgical services for 30 years, retiring after 48 years of nursing. The Katterhagens dairy farmed for 30 years and now raise feeder cattle and crops.

Marie is active in her church in various roles and continues as a Eucharist minister. She just made her 11th trip to Guatemala to assist with surgeries for the underserved. She has also volunteered with Project Heal, an outreach clinic for the underserved in Central Minnesota.
For over 25 years, the Katterhagens continue to host Envirofest at their farm for all Todd County 6th graders, where they learn about all areas of conservation. They hosted Breakfast on the Farm in 2016 and 2024. Marie enjoys grandparenting, reading, quilting, and spending time with family and friends.

Appointed to fill a vacancy on the Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative Board in 2007, Marie currently serves as Secretary of the Board. She appreciates the opportunity to bring diversity to the Board and believes she has gained a solid background in the operation of the industry and cooperative leadership.

“Now, more than ever, it is critical that the member-owners are represented by knowledgeable, committed leadership to work with legislators toward balanced solutions to our energy challenges, and to continue to work with Great River Energy to keep our rates affordable and transmission reliable,” she says. “Our challenge continues to be incorporating renewable energy, maintaining reliability, and affordability – while meeting the mandates set forth by our Minnesota Legislature.”

Robb Oyster was born and raised on the family dairy farm in Hewitt. After graduating from Bertha- Hewitt High School, he worked some construction. By the end of that summer, he was married to Heidi and still is after 45 years. That same year, in the fall, he started to purchase some cows of his own. Robb and his wife have raised five children on their dairy farm near Hewitt. Now 18 grandchildren enjoy some farm life as well. He says he is still attending the school of hard knocks and is still learning a lot. The dairy is home to about 150 cows.

Robb previously served on the Northern Cooperative Board. He also served on the Bertha-Hewitt School Board. He has held, and is currently holding, leadership positions in his church congregation.

As a business owner, he is grateful to have a good, reliable source of electricity and would like the opportunity to conservatively help that continue.

Steve has lived in Todd County his entire life. He graduated from Bertha- Hewitt and attended Wadena Area Technical Institute, completing the 11-month class of telephone central office. He worked on the family farm, along with other short-term employments before landing a position at First National Bank in Bertha. There, he primarily learned their insurance agency business which he ended up managing and then purchasing. Along with the agency, he became the IRA/HSA Administrator and Security Officer for the Bertha office and the other nine Star Bank offices. He retired first from the insurance agency and then the bank in January 2024.

Outside of the bank, Steve did various things at the Bertha-Hewitt School. Activities he was involved with include officiating football, boys and girls basketball, softball, and baseball. He was also recruited to announce for the indoor marching band concert for over 20 years. Currently, Steve does the public address announcements for football.

Steve served on the Bertha Volunteer Ambulance Service for 24 years. He was elected to the Hewitt City Council for six years and served as mayor for two. He also served on the Hewitt Fire Department for 27 years, serving as Fire Chief for 11 of those years. In 2016, he joined the Bertha Clinic Advisory Committee and is still an active member.

Steve joined the Hewitt Lions as a charter member where he served multiple terms as treasurer and president. He is currently a member of two 501 (c) (3) nonprofits, the Bertha Area Sportsman Club, of which he is president, and the Ringnecks Forevermore as a director.

Steve has always been interested in learning new things. He believes the chance to be on the board of a very successful cooperative would be a great opportunity to learn more and contribute from his past varied experience whenever possible.

Eugene Roller lives and works on a dairy-crop farm by rural Hewitt. He recently turned the management part of the farm over to his youngest son. Eugene graduated from Bertha Hewitt High School in 1980. He then obtained an associate’s degree in sales and management. He has been married to his wife, Brenda, for 43 years. They have four children and 11 grandchildren.

Eugene currently is the chairman for Ottertail County Dairy Herd Improvement Association. He is also a supervisor for the Oak Valley Town Board. He is the superintendent for the Wadena County Fair dairy barn. He was a 4-H leader for many years. He served on the state Holstein Association Board and the corporate board for Associated Milk Producers, Inc. AMPI is a cheese and butter producing co-op that does 2.2 billion dollars of business annually.

Eugene would like to be on the TWEC Board of Directors to convey the ideas of the membership to the board. Eugene believes, “Electricity is going to be more popular in many different items, so we will have to have an infrastructure that can handle an increased demand.”

Alex Roth is the owner of the growing custom farming business, AR Farms. He recently opened a repair shop, AR Farms Repair and Service. Alex is from the Wadena-Verndale area and currently resides there with his two young boys and wife. Being from the area and communicating with the local farmers, he understands and hears the importance and challenges electricity has on daily farm operations.

As a candidate for a director position, Alex hopes to reach out to other young business and home-owners to receive their valued input. Alex is excited and motivated to serve Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative and the community!

Mike and his wife, Eloise, retired from their family farm located between Browerville and Staples. They have twin sons and six grandchildren (ages 8 – 21). Mike served 14 years as the Chair of the Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative Board. He represents TWEC on the board of its power supplier, Great River Energy (GRE), where he also served as chair for several years. He represented GRE at the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives and ACES Power in Indiana.

Mike graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Agricultural Economics. He completed the Credentialed Cooperative Director, Board Leadership, and Director Gold programs offered through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. He also completed the Blandin Leadership program.

Mike spent three years on active duty in the U.S. Army. He has been involved in our community having served on the Staples- Motley School Board, Todd County Economic Development Board, and the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Association Board. He was on the Cooperative Power Board before it became Great River Energy. He is a member of Faith Lutheran Church, Minnesota Irrigators Association, and Farm Bureau.

“I work hard to keep up with the ever-changing energy industry where new technology is constantly being adopted, and customer expectations continue to change. I try to balance my decisions on how to best keep TWEC competitive and reliable with a concern for the environment,” Mike said. “TWEC rates are among the lowest of Great River Energy’s cooperatives because TWEC members have been great participants in our load control programs. TWEC staff and employees are experienced and dedicated to providing excellent service to all member-owners.”

Mike believes his education, experience, and common sense will continue to be important assets to TWEC as our system grows and adapts to the needs of members, the changing regulatory system, and the environment.