Hall of Fame Class of 2025

Bruce Savage

Bruce is a member of the Class of 1980. He is a Tribal advocate for the Fond Du Lac band treaty protection. Savage is a teacher of traditional skills - hunting, maple sugaring, and wild ricing. He believes that focusing on healthy lifeways and outcomes brings continued enrichment for the community. He is a committed advocate in preserving the Ojibwe language. Bruce and his wife are the owners of Spirit Lake Farms dedicated to traditional seasonally harvested food. He was elected to serve as Chairman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribal in 2024.

Bill Cortes

Bill Cortes was a popular social studies teacher and a coach in multiple sports. Cortes served as a coach in football and baseball for 21 years, the last nine as a volunteer. He helped organize and fund the building of the Ordean Middle School baseball diamond at a time when there was only one ﬁeld for all of Duluth. The new baseball ﬁeld was named in his honor - Cortes Field. Bill led the football team to a conference championship in 2000 - the ﬁrst since 1973. His ﬁrst career was in journalism. Bill was a lead anchor at KDAL radio and TV for 14 years.

Brenda Varda

Brenda is a member of the Class of 1976. Varda is an award-winning writer, teacher, coach, producer, actress, and musician. After regional theatre work and Second City in Chicago, she moved to Los Angeles, appearing in over 100 national commercials, numerous guest stars roles in TV, movies, and pilots. She is also a playwright and musical theater director in Los Angeles and Minneapolis. Brenda continues to run activities and coaching for Wordspace (started in 2009). Varda’s current productions, coaching, & writing projects: Liquid, Metaland: a 21st Century Vaudeville, & That’s so Earth.

John Salminen

John was a talented art teacher at East. John has won more than 300 awards in national and international exhibitions, including the Shanghai Biennial Award, two time winner of the AWS Gold Medal, and the Allied Artists of America’s Gold Medal of Honor. Salminen is the President of the International Masters of Watercolour Association centered in Shanghai, China. His work is included in permanent collections in Asia and Europe as well as in numerous private and corporate collections around the world. His work has been featured in 42 books in the USA, Europe, Russia, and Asia.

James C. “Jim” Backstrom

Jim is a member of the Class of 1971. He is the longest serving county attorney in Dakota County’s history, at 33+ years. Jim was appointed county attorney and then won election to the post 8 times. He trains prosecutors across Mn, US, and Canada. Jim is nationally recognized for the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Jim has received numerous local, state, and national awards. He has met with Congress, President Bill Clinton, and AG Reno discussing juvenile crime. Representing Minnesota, Backstrom successfully has argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

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