Johnson, Dan W. 1917-2001

Dan W. Johnson was born on June 2, 1917, in Ivanhoe, Minnesota, to William and Nora Johnson, owners of the Ivanhoe Times. Following in his family’s footsteps, he pursued a career in journalism, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Minnesota in 1940 and later a Master of Science in Journalism and Political Science from South Dakota State University in 1963. After college, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. While stationed in Europe, he met his future wife, Jeanne, a native of Liverpool, England, and a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. They were married on July 16, 1945, in Antwerp, Belgium. The couple had two children, Craig W. and Judith J.

Johnson devoted his entire professional life to the newspaper industry. He began working at the family paper after high school and later studied journalism at the University of Minnesota. During his military service, he briefly served in the Coast Guard Artillery and was appointed editor of the Narragansett Bay Digest. He also worked in the Counter-Intelligence Corps in the European Theatre. After the war, he returned to the Ivanhoe Times, serving as Associate Editor from 1945 to 1951. He later held positions at the Minneapolis Tribune and the Brookings Register before joining South Dakota State University in 1961 as News Editor. In 1965, he became the Information Officer for the South Dakota Board of Regents.

In 1969, Johnson relocated to Marshall, Minnesota, where he served as Director of News and Publications at Southwest State University until his retirement in 1981. Beyond his university work, he consulted on several community initiatives, including the Brookings senior high school bond issue, the Marshall medical center bond issue, and Schwan’s Sales Enterprises corporate publications. He also contributed columns to the Brookings Register and the Marshall Independent. Dan W. Johnson passed away on December 17, 2001.