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Paynesville Press - Sept. 21, 2005

Former college president dies after retiring to Koronis

By Michael Jacobson

Dale Lorenz, a former college president who became active in the Koronis Lake Association after retiring to Paynesville, died last week at the age of 75. He had lived on Lake Koronis for over a decade.

Dale Lorenz After serving in the Air Force and then attending the University of Minnesota, Lorenz began his career in academia administration as the registrar in Austin, Minn., and then became the founding president of Willmar Community College in 1962, North Hennepin Community College in 1966, and Normandale Community College in 1968. He stayed at Normandale until his retirement in February 1991.

At his funeral on Saturday at Nordland Lutheran Church, several of his former colleagues described him as pragmatic, passionate, open minded, hard working, and enthusiastic. ³If success can be measured in the impact you have on the life of a child, then Dale was one successful man,² said one colleague.

In retirement, Lorenz put his administrative skills to work in the Paynesville area, most notably with the Koronis Lake Association, where he served as vice president, and at Nordland Lutheran Church. For the Koronis Lake Association, Lorenz was a key researcher of the Rice-Koronis Lake Management Plan, released in 2003, and researcher and writer of the ³Living With Lake Koronis: An Owner¹s Manual,² released in 2004.

³Dale was very instrumental in helping to put together the Rice-Koronis Lake Management Plan,² said Peter Jacobson, president of the Koronis Lake Association and publisher of the Press. ³This plan is the blueprint both lakes are using to improve water quality and recreational opportunities for our residents and tourists to our area.²

³Dale also singlehandedly researched, compiled, and wrote the Œowners manual¹ for living at Lake Koronis. This is an educational manual that helps all of us to reduce our impact on Lake Koronis while we enjoy its beauty and recreational opportunities,² added Jacobson.

At Nordland, said Pastor Keith Ainsley, Lorenz helped with their recent building project and was instrumental in updating the church¹s constitution.

Lorenz is survived by his wife, Lora, of Paynesville and other family. His obituary ran last week in the Press and can be read online at www.paynesvillearea.com.



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