Shakopee Alumni Association inducts three into 2025 Hall of Fame

The Shakopee Alumni Association presented its 2025 Hall of Fame honorees at the Aug. 25 Shakopee Public School District meeting, recognizing two athletic alumni and one educator for their contributions to the community.

Pat Pass, the Shakopee Alumni Association lead and a community member, described the association’s history and selection process. “We started in 1998 … it was strictly athletic hall of fame,” Pass said, and later the group added a distinguished category and a separate Angel Fund that raises money for student needs such as yearbooks and prom tickets and supports the Dollars for Scholars scholarship.

This year’s athletic inductees included Nick Larson (class of 2013), a three‑year football letter winner who went on to play at the University of Minnesota Duluth and later worked as a math teacher and football coach; and Zach Hoffman (class of 2012), a three‑year baseball letter winner at St. Cloud State who holds that school’s career home‑run record and serves with the Saint Paul Fire Department and part time for the City of Shakopee.

The distinguished inductee was Mary Milton Folsom, who trained in early childhood education at Mankato State and owned and operated the Shakopee Child Learning Center from 1980 to 2015. Pass described Folsom’s approach — “play is kids’ work” — and noted Folsom’s longstanding community involvement through food drives, Christmas assistance and other events.

Tiffany Olsen, the district’s director of communications and strategic development, introduced the segment and thanked Pass for presenting the honorees’ stories.

The presentation was framed as an informational and celebratory item; the board did not take formal action related to the Hall of Fame during the meeting.