Verne Hansen
Verne J Hansen is an American businessman, a multiple-term Mayor of Faulkton, South Dakota, and humanitarian. He is best known for his devotion to Faulkton, a small town in northeastern South Dakota.
Early life
He was born April 19, 1932 to Leonard Hansen and Mary McLean-Hansen in Gettysburg, South Dakota. He had two older brothers; Dale and Dean Hansen. Later in life he was joined by three younger sisters; Kayleen, Connie, and Karen Hansen. Young Verne enjoyed most of his early life on his father’s farm outside of Gettysburg. He was known to some as “Corky” because he was smaller than his two older brothers. “Just like lifting a cork…” His father farmed, and raised draft horses. At the age of 13 suffered a life threatening injury in a gasoline fire on his father's farm. He spent over a year in a Pierre, South Dakota hospital. At one point in his extended stay in the hospital his weight was a mere 35 pounds. As a result on an infection in his right leg it was amputated. A key element in Hansen's healing process was a Catholic sister who encouraged him daily to heal and get on with his life.
Education and early career
After his hospitalization, Hansen was behind in his schooling, but graduated with his class from Gettysburg High School in 1951. He moved to Faulkton, South Dakota to take on a job as a veterinarian assistant, a challenging occupation because of his disability, but because of his dedication he gained friends fast in the agricultural community. He attended the Aberdeen School of Commerce, and was in the class of 1953. In his schooling he discovered he had a very high “IQ” in mathematics.
Family life
Mickie Bierman, the woman he would eventually marry moved to Faulkton with her family from Cresbard, South Dakota into a house that had no running water. Jay Bershere (Hansen’s employer) offered to let Mickie’s family get water from his house until they got running water. Mickie, being the oldest in her family had the task of bringing the water back to their home multiple times a day. During this time Hansen met Mickie while she was getting the water from the Bershere home. A relationship developed, and they began to date while Mickie was finishing her high school education, and graduated from Faulkton High School in the class of 1955. Verne and Mickie were married on August 14, 1955. Later she gave birth to three sons: Wade, Ward, and Jess Hansen. Those three sons went on to produce three grandsons (Peyton, Grant, and Jackson), and two granddaughters (Kathyrn, and Elaine). Wade currently lives with his wife Dominique “Nikki” Jackson in Denver, Colorado. Ward currently lives with his wife Terresa in Downers Grove, Illinois. And Jess currently lives in Sterling, Colorado.
Career
Hansen purchased a small insurance agency in the early sixties in Faulkton after acquiring his licensing to sell insurance in the state of South Dakota. The business was known as “Verne J Hansen Agency”. The business offered insurance, bookkeeping service, tax preparation service, and business consulting. The business started under the town’s bakery, and then moved across the street to a building that Hansen had built by Robert “Bob” Ketterling next to the town’s newspaper “The Faulkton Record”. This business was one of those centers in a small town where you would go to engage in the workings of a rural community. As a result, Hansen was approached to run for mayor of Faulkton. He would go on to serve as mayor for multiple terms. Hansen was also instrumental in developing new business in the area. One example was Schwan’s Ice Cream building a regional distribution center just outside town. Hansen, with some partners, developed low income housing through USDA Rural Development, and built four apartment buildings in Faulkton, as well has two apartment buildings in Custer, South Dakota. To this day Hansen still manages these sites, and manages apartments in other nearby towns in South Dakota.
Honors
Hansen has received many honors from the Independent Insurance Agents of South Dakota, and was sent to the National Convention in the late 1970s to represent South Dakota independent agents in Washington, DC.
Retirement and philanthropy
In 2004, after selling his business, Hansen began a mission to find funding for a new hospital for the town of Faulkton. After two years of research he finally was able to see ground breaking for this new hospital. Faulkton Area Medical Center is now a 12-bed hospital serving not only the community of Faulkton, but a very large area of the northeastern South Dakota rural community. When built, it was the first new hospital to be built in the state of South Dakota in the past quarter century. This hospital has two new operating rooms, a new lab, as well as state of the art medical testing equipment. Another notable element in the hospital is that it is heated and cooled by a geothermal energy system with will allow the hospital to be sustainable energy pioneer in this rural community. In June 2007 the new facility located on the southwest edge of Faulkton, all related health facilities were physically joined. The Faulkton Area Medical Center (hospital & clinic) is connected by a hallway to The Meadows (assisted living) and the Faulkton Health care Center (nursing home). The medical center continues to be governed by an independent, local board of directors, of which Hansen is a member. The nursing home and assisted living facility are operated by a private corporation. The hospital is a very significant addition to the town, and has since been able to draw new business interests to this small town that has seen new housing development as well.
References
- The Faulkton Record
- Potter County Records
- Independent Insurance Agents of South Dakota
- Faulkton Area Medical Center