Dan W. Johnson was born to William and Nora Johnson on June 2, 1917 in Ivanhoe, MN. The only son of the owners of the Ivanhoe Times, Mr. Johnson pursued a similar field of study at the University of Minnesota, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science in 1940, and in 1963 a Master’s of Science in Journalism and Political Science from South Dakota State University. After graduating from college, he served in the U. S. Army during WW II. It was during the war and time spent in Europe that he met his wife, Jeanne, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, and a native of Liverpool, England. They wed July 16, 1945 in Antwerp, Belgium. The Johnson's have two surviving children, Craig W., and Judith J.

Mr. Johnson spent his entire professional career in the newspaper business. After graduating from high school, he spent a year at the family newspaper before studying journalism at the University of Minnesota. During his military service, he spent a brief period in the Coast Guard Artillery, and was later assigned Editor of the "Narragansett Bay Digest." He also spent time in the counter-intelligence Corps European Theatre. After the war, Mr. Johnson returned to the family newspaper and served as Associate Editor from 1945-1951. Mr. Johnson left the family newspaper, and spent time at the Minneapolis Tribune and the Brookings Register before accepting a position at South Dakota State University as News Editor in 1961, and later Information Officer for the South Dakota Board of Regents in 1965. In 1969, he moved to Marshall, MN, and accepted a position as the Director for News and Publications at Southwest State University and remained there until his retirement in 1981.

Mr. Johnson also worked as consultant for the Brookings senior high school bond issue, the Marshall medical center bond issue, Schwan's Sales Enterprises corporate magazines, and the Marshall area senior center bond issue. He worked as a columnist for the Brookings Register during his residence there, and also for the Marshall Independent until he passed away on December 17, 2001.