Awarded annually, Norway House’s Going Viking Honors celebrate individuals and organizations “who embody the adventuresome and bold spirit of the Vikings by inspiring their communities to explore and discover new frontiers with courage and determination.” The Honorees will be recognized at the Vinterfest Gala in December.
Going Viking 2026 Recipients
Presented during Vinterfest at Norway House, December 1, 2026
Kjell Bergh
Born and raised in Kristiansund, Norway, Kjell Bergh arrived in the U.S. as a young journalist, spent 13 months traveling the country on odd jobs and freelance writing for Norwegian publications, and stopped in Minneapolis on his way to Szeattle. He never left. He went from temporary worker to sole owner of Borton Volvo, built Borton Travel, served as Honorary Consul of Tanzania, and sat on the boards of institutions including Gillette Children’s Hospital and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. For more than 45 years he has been a champion of ties between Minnesota and Norway, from helping plan King Olav’s 1968 visit to hosting visiting Norwegian dignitaries.
Gracia Grindal
Professor of Rhetoric Emerita at Luther Seminary, Gracia Grindal is a poet, hymn writer, and historian who has devoted her career to Norwegian-American life. After graduating from Augsburg College in 1965, she stayed in Norway for a year working in two Oslo nursing homes to learn the language, and she has since spent more than two years there on sabbaticals studying Nordic hymnody. She has written or translated dozens of books, including histories of Norwegian-American women such as Elisabeth Fedde and Thea Rønning and the congregation history Mindekirken: Against the Current. She has also produced the Hovland opera Fange og Fri about Hans Nielsen Hauge, served as president of Mindekirken, and served on the Norwegian American Historical Association board.
Melissa Hortman (posthumous)
Melissa Hortman spent two decades in the Minnesota House, serving as Speaker from 2019 to 2025 and championing clean energy, infrastructure, and police accountability reform, including a bipartisan bill passed in the weeks after George Floyd’s murder. A lawyer who began her career representing families facing housing discrimination, she took on fights others avoided, built coalitions across party lines, and advocated for Norway House’s inclusion in state bonding bills ahead of its 2022 campus expansion. She and her husband, Mark, were killed in June 2025 in a politically motivated attack, and the award honors a lifetime of courageous public service. Her family will accept the award on her behalf at Vinterfest on December 1.
Norway House Going Viking Award
Nominations for Going Viking 2026 now closed.
Going Viking 2027 nominations open Summer 2027.
Each year, the Norway House Founders’ Council presents the Going Viking Award to recognize those who embody a spirit of bold adventure, purposeful ambition, and courageous action. Rooted in the history of Norwegian exploration and the values that guide Norway House’s mission, this award celebrates the people and/or organizations who dare to push beyond the expected—and inspire others in doing so.
Minnesota author Tom C. Veblen—the great-nephew of the renowned Norwegian-American economist Thorstein Veblen, and shaped by the Scandinavian immigrant communities of the Red River Valley in Minnesota—captured the spirit of this award in his writings on the “Going Viking” spirit:
To be adventuresome, explore, discover, to exert oneself, aspire, to take a stab at, have a go or crack or whack, or a shot at; to pursue hard, bold, dangerous, or important undertakings…
The award may recognize an individual or organization. While Norwegian heritage and ties to Norway House's mission are a natural fit, nominees of all backgrounds are encouraged—what matters most is embodying the “Going Viking” spirit.
All nominations are carefully considered, though selection is not guaranteed.
Presented during Vinterfest at Norway House, December 1, 2026
To submit your nominations, or if you have questions, contact:
Max Stevenson
Chief of Staff & Externals Relations
612.871.2211
mstevenson@norwayhouse.org
Previous Going Viking Honorees
2025
Leslee Lane Hoyum (Full bio)
Mark Larson (Full bio)
Kenneth Holmen (Full bio)
2024
Will Steeger
Linda Mona
Marilyn Sorensen
Lori Ann Reinhall (Service Award Recipient)
2023
Dr. Mary M. Tjosvold
Jessie Diggins
2022
Hon. John R. Tunheim
Mats Zuccarello
2021
Dr. Karen Nyberg
Dr. William H. Halverson
Dr. Michael Osterholm
Ingebretsen’s Nordic Marketplace
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
Grace Grinager
Going Viking Young Professional
2020
Liv Arnesen & Ann Bancroft
Dr. John E. Haugo
Lakselaget
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
Stephan Quie
Going Viking Young Professional
2019
David Mona
Dr. Paula Carlson
Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce - North Chapter
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
Ross “Odin” Dybvig
Going Viking Young Professional
2018
Dr. Hamlet A. Peterson
Judy K. Siegle
Norwegian American Historical Association
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
Maren Anderson Johnson, Ph.D.
Going Viking Young Professional
2017
Rev. Ann Svennungsen
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
Stine Aasland, Nordic Waffles
Going Viking Young Professional
2016
Paul D. Erickson
Norwegian-American Bygdelagenes Fellesraad
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
2015
Thor S. Johansen
Consul General for Norway in Minnesota 2001-2005
2014
Norman Lorentzsen
John Lund
Janis Hardy
Sons of Norway
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
2013
Lorie Skjerven Gildea
Lloyd Svensbye
Jon Wefald
Mindekirken - The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
2012
Robert Bergland
Jim Brandenburg
Tove Dahl
Skogfjorden
Honored Norway House Affiliate Organization
2011
Libby Larsen
Representative Jim Ramstad
Eric Utne
2010
Peter Agre
Augsburg College
Gary Gandrud
St. Olaf College
Greg Mortenson
Concordia College
Joyce Nelson
Augustana College
David Preus
Luther College
2009
Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Betty McCollum
Roger Moe
Governor Al Quie
Martin Olav Sabo
2008
Earl Bakken
Ken Dahlberg
Janet Dolan
Carl Platou
Winston Wallin