This past Monday, Keith Severson, a 2001 Roseau High School graduate, hit the ground running with a zest for his new position.

Speaking by cellphone from Duluth on St. Patrick's Day, Mr. Severson, a NDSU engineering graduate, mentioned that it was time to come home.

For a rural Wannaska farm kid who was handy with a variety of farm implements, he turned into a world traveler and had worked in Europe for almost a decade before returning to the States to reside in Duluth.

It required no arm twisting to get him to apply for the Parks and Rec director position.

"My wife, Anna, and I have been t...