Jill (Jungling) Burcum, a 1986 Anoka High School graduate, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for editorial writing. She is a longtime writer and editor for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
An investigative editorial entitled "Not This Mine. Not This Location," which focused on copper mining's risk to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, was recognized by the Pulitzer Board in 2020. It helped influence federal officials to enact long-term protections for this fragile, beloved watershed in northeast Minnesota.

Another series called "Separate and Unequal" detailed dilapidated Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools in Minnesota and across the nation. It was a Pulitzer finalist in 2015. Jill testified before the U.S. Congress that same year about these schools' poor condition. Funds appropriated after the series ran built a new high school on the White Earth Nation in northern Minnesota. There was enough funding to clear some of the agency’s construction-and-repair backlog to assist BIE schools in other states.

Jill regularly writes about health care for the Star Tribune. Before joining the newspaper, she worked for the Mayo Clinic and Rochester Post-Bulletin. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington in 1991.

In high school, Jill participated in cross country, and was honored to be part of Anoka athletic legend Paula Leu’s last season on the team. Jill was also on the cross-country ski team and was an Anokahi newspaper editor and sports columnist. She is appreciative of the excellent education provided at Anoka High School and is particularly thankful for its talented teachers and their encouragement to consider writing as a career. She regularly uses A.P. English vocabulary words in her articles.

Jill’s parents are Kate and Willie Jungling of Anoka.

It was Mary Jablonski’s father, Sy, who taught her to swim. A former Minnesota Gopher swim team captain, Sy was instrumental in establishing Anoka’s outdoor swimming pool where Mary learned to be a competitive swimmer, winning her first medal at the first annual Anoka Swim Meet. Mary went on to swim for the Anoka Swim Club and the Minneapolis YWCA. She held state and national records and competed in the national championships and Olympic qualifying meet in 1968. When Anoka High School initiated a swim team in 1969, Mary competed throughout the metro area and set records in the backstroke, the butterfly, and the individual medley.

After high school, Mary attended the University of Minnesota, joined the Gophers’ swim team, and in 1971 competed in the first ever Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. With a victory and record time in the 50-yard butterfly, Mary became the first woman to be crowned a women’s Big Ten champion. She subsequently became the first Gopher woman to attend and place in the national championships, where she won a silver medal.

Mary is a member of the University of Minnesota Aquatics Hall of Fame, the Minnesota Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Minnesota Gopher Sports Hall of Fame. The editor of the Anoka Union said of Mary’s induction into the Aquatics Hall of Fame, “Although it is difficult to follow footsteps in a pool of water, we are glad to see Mary following in her father’s steps.”
    
Mary’s pioneering leadership in women’s athletics opened the door for thousands of other girls to enjoy the thrill of athletic competition.

Todd Manthey is a 1984 graduate of Anoka High School (AHS)where he played football, hockey, and baseball. He was a two-year varsity starting quarterback and captain of the football team as a senior. An All-Conference football player, Todd earned the Myron Way “Way to Be” award as a senior. Todd was also a three-year varsity hockey player and team captain as a senior.  He was selected all-conference in both his junior and senior years. Todd was elected to the All-Metro team and All-State team as a senior and was selected to play in the Minnesota State Coaches’ Association All-Star game. He is also a member of Anoka Hockey’s “Century Club.”  Todd played baseball at AHS for three years and was a two-year varsity letter winner.

In college, Todd played Division I hockey at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks as a freshman and finished his college hockey career at St. Cloud State University (SCSU), playing for legendary coach Herb Brooks. He graduated from SCSU and began his teaching career in Anoka-Hennepin.

After his playing days ended, Todd coached hockey, football and baseball at AHS from 1989 until 2016. He coached varsity football from 1989 through 2013, serving as an assistant to head coaches DeWayne Johnson and Jeff Buerkle. Todd was an assistant on the 1990 and 1994 state championship football teams and the 2001 state participant team. Todd also coached ninth grade baseball at AHS for three seasons under Dave Bross. ​​Todd coached varsity hockey at AHS for 23 years, starting as an assistant hockey coach for John Birrenkott from 1993-1999, including the 1997 and 1998 conference, section, and state tournament teams. He became the head hockey coach in 1999 and coached until 2016. Todd led the Tornadoes to the 2003 conference, section, and State AA Championship. Todd’s 2008 team was the conference champions, and the 2016 team won the section title and competed in the state hockey tournament.  

Todd was the state coach of the year runner-up in 2003, the section coach of the year in 2003, 2008, 2015 and 2016. His record as a head varsity hockey coach was 217 wins, 206 losses, and 12 ties. In the fall of 2022, Todd was elected to the Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame.

Todd and his wife Tami Jo have been married for 38 years and have two adult sons, Tim (married to Erin) and Tyler (married to Stacy) and five grandchildren. Todd teaches at Anoka Middle School for the Arts and has lived in Anoka his entire life.

Arch Pease graduated from Anoka High School (AHS) in 1925. He then attended the University of Illinois where he competed in football and wrestling, graduating in 1931 with a B.S. degree in education. While in college, Arch had gone through ROTC training, becoming a second lieutenant in the army. From 1940 to 1942 he was an administrative assistant to Congressman Richard P. Gale from Minnesota, leaving that post for active duty in 1942.  Following his active duty, Arch taught English for seven years in southern Illinois followed by three more years of teaching in Minnesota. He left the teaching profession to become a congressional secretary and retired from the military as a full colonel in 1962 after 32 years of service.

While in high school, Arch had developed his writing skills as a member of  the AHS school student newspaper staff. Those skills proved invaluable as he became part owner of the Anoka Union newspaper, working as an advertising and news person and continuing the family legacy of owning the Anoka County Union, which was established in 1865. In 1947, Arch became the editor of the Union and Shopper. In 1949, he took over as the sole owner of Pease Printing, and in 1951 he became the president of the Anoka County Union Shopper until its sale in 1989.

Arch continued his public service by being elected to the Anoka Township zoning and planning commission serving for 12 years. In 1967, he was appointed by Governor Harold Levander to the State Board of Education.

Arch was married to his wife Amy for over 50 years, and they had two children, Tom and Barb, both of whom attended AHS. Arch passed away in 1990, leaving behind a rich legacy of public service to the Anoka community, to the state of Minnesota, and to the entire country.

Jill (Boo) Wolfe, a 2001 graduate of Anoka High School, was a four-year academic letter winner with a cumulative 4.0 unweighted GPA. She served as president of the National Honor Society and treasurer of the student council. Jill was also involved in the arts and earned all-conference honors in band. As a seventh grader, Jill joined the high school swim team and became a six-year letter winner. She earned four all-conference honors and was a four-year state qualifier. She was all-state during her junior and senior years, serving as captain her final year and helping the 200 and 400 freestyle relays break school records that stood for almost 20 years.

After high school, Jill attended Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and became an 18-time All-American swimmer, helping her team finish in the top four at NCAA’s all four years. She was a three-time national champion in the 100 butterfly, a six-time North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) champion, and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All American selection recipient. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and was awarded the NCAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She then went on to become the Ohio Woman of the Year in 2005 as part of the NCAA Woman of the Year recognition program, chosen for academic and athletic success from all NCAA divisions in all sports. Jill was one of five Presidential Award recipients for Denison University in 2005 and earned an NCAA post-graduate scholarship.  She was inducted into the Denison University Hall of Fame in 2016.

Following her college graduation, Jill was awarded two Fulbright scholarships and taught English in Germany before moving back to the United States to begin her career in education.  She coached the Anoka Tornadoes for three years as she was teaching and earning her masters degree from the University of Minnesota. Jill has worked in education as a German teacher and also a Career and College Specialist for 18 years, 14 of them in the Anoka-Hennepin School District.

Jill is grateful for all the Anoka community has done for her and is proud to give back and serve as an educator. She currently lives in Ham Lake with her husband, Jake Wolfe, a 2000 AHS alum, and their four children.