The Stearns History Museum Board of Directors has chosen Marian Rengel and Mike Knaak as the recipients of the Zapp Historian Award for 2025. The Zapp Historian award is presented annually in recognition of significant contributions to the preservation, interpretation, or promotion of Stearns County history. The contribution can be broad, including leadership, preservation, financial contribution, interpretation, and/or other substantial actions and efforts. It can be a single or lifetime contribution. The award is named in honor of the Zapp family.
Marian Rengel worked for the St. Cloud Times as a writer and editor for almost 30 years. In 2003, she was a founding member of the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL), which uses state funded grants to digitize and host archival materials online at no cost. Stearns History Museum was a pilot contributor to MDL and to date has contributed almost 450 objects. MDL now hosts over 60,000 objects from over 200 contributors. For years, Marian has volunteered at SHM where she writes articles for Crossings and also processes and catalogs the St. Cloud Times Photograph Collection.
Mike Knaak was the successor to Myron Hall, becoming a photographer at the St. Cloud Times in 1975. For over 40 years, Mike chronicled St. Cloud area history in photography. He served as the paper’s photo editor and won awards for his photographic talent. He volunteers at the SCSU Archives and assisted archivist Tom Steman in establishing a 3D photography project. He also began volunteering at SHM in 2023, processing the St. Cloud Times Photograph Collection.
The award was presented in St. Cloud on February 10, 2026 at the Stearns History Museum. Tom Steman from SCSU and John Bodette, long-time editor of the St. Cloud Times, joined board members, staff, and volunteers for the celebration. Thank you to Marian and Mike for your years of dedicated service to recording and archiving the visual history of the region. Your continued work will benefit generations of Central Minnesota residents to come.
