This month, we’d like to introduce you to Arlene Conzelman. Conzelman is the Director of Friends of Finland as well as the Youth Program Coordinator. Conzelman has lived on the North Shore of Lake Superior, mostly in Finland, MN, for 20 years (besides a year and a half she spent in North Carolina helping her little brother). Conzelman first came to Finland, MN from Colorado with a friend she had met while he had been working at a ski resort in Colorado. Her friend was planning a trip home to Finland, MN after the ski season. Conzelman wanted to see Lake Superior, so she thought she would tag along for the trip. And she has been here ever since. On that first trip, Conzelman remembers when she first crossed into southern Minnesota. As she looked around at all of the flat farmland, she thought to herself, “I hope the whole state isn’t like this”. Of course, she was happily surprised when she reached the north shore of Lake Superior and found the rugged Sawtooth Mountain landscape that we all love.

Conzelman has two brothers. Her older half-brother lives in Idaho, and her younger full brother was in the Army and now lives in North Carolina. Conzelman has a son, Hunter, who just graduated from William Kelly a year ago. And she also has a dog named Bella.

Conzelman says that she loves the fall: “Beautiful leaves, not too hot and less bugs!” She also enjoys the shore of Lake Superior in the winter, especially after a very cold and windy storm, when the lake creates massive frozen ice structures that are fun to explore.