Seniors celebrated Friday

Cromwell mayor Sharon Zelazny and Wrenshall resident Harold Ankrum were recognized as the 2023 Carlton County Outstanding Seniors for 2023 on Friday, Aug 18, during Senior Day at the Carlton County Fair.

Harold Ankrum is well-known in the Carlton-Wrenshall area as the longtime owner of Harold's Service just west of the Carlton County Courthouse. He is in the process of selling the business.

Yet, besides helping stranded motorists, Ankrum is noted for turning "fiascos into fortunes" for cancer research. He has sponsored three annual local fundraisers to raise funds for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: Harold's Golf Fiasco, Harold's Flapjack Fiasco, and Harold's Hogfest.

Last year Ankrum raised $41,000 for St. Jude's. He's raised over $400,000 for the hospital since he started.

"This is all amazing," Ankrum said. "You can't do these fundraisers without a lot of support and volunteer time from your family."

Ankrum is a member of Bethesda Lutheran Church and active in the local chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. He has been active for years teaching young hunters to be safe and responsible.

He has received awards for his service from St. Jude and the state deer hunters association, was Carlton Chamber of Commerce 1998 Business of the Year, and won the Mayor's Day of Recognition Volunteer Award in 2018.

presented the award to Ankrum.

"Volunteers like you genuinely change the world," said Carlton County commissioner Sue Zmyslony.

Cromwell mayor Sharon Zelazny was nominated by Cromwell's Young Old Timers, promoted by the club's president Jennie Hanson. Zelazny said when she became mayor of Cromwell she set a goal for herself to "improve the quality of life for Cromwell residents."

"Although being the mayor of Cromwell is an unpaid position, I find the work very rewarding and especially when I see my goals realized," she said. "I promote citizen involvement wherever I'm able to."

Zelazny and her husband, Bill, moved to Cromwell from Floodwood when they retired. They consider themselves a team. Bill and Sharon spend several hours a month working on food distribution through Ruby's Pantry, for example.

Zelazny encouraged the Minnesota Department of Transportation, during the recent Highway 210 project just being completed, to install storm sewers and other infrastructure under the roadbed within the city.

Success has come through her work on an upgrade of the city sewage treatment facility, a new emergency alert siren system, upgrades to the pavilion park, a pedestrian walkway from Villa Vista along Highway 73 to the junction of highways 73 and 210, and high-speed internet for the city of Cromwell. Most of this work was funded by grants.

She and Bill are members of the Immaculate Conception Church, where Sharon is a director.

Zelazny also belongs to a long list of organizations: the Big Sandy Area Lakes Water Management Project, Cromwell-Wright Fire District, Northwest Carlton County ambulance district, Carlton County Economic Development, Highway 73 Action Committee, and the Cromwell Area Community Club.

Carlton County commissioner Gary Peterson said he was amazed how Zelazny found time to promote all the improvements in Cromwell, always looking to the future.