Community Corner

Ultimate Bracket: Who is the Most Famous Parkite?

The "Ultimate St. Louis Park Bracket" kicks off today with the Round of 32.

Update: Round 1 voting in the Orange Region is complete. See complete results below, and click here for an updated bracket. To vote in Round 1 of the Black Region, .

Sure, there's plenty of basketball on today with the start of the NCAA Tournament, but there's another big bracket in town—the "Ultimate St. Louis Park Bracket."

In this 32-person bracket, your votes will determine who really is the most famous St. Louis Park resident of all time. What are the criteria? That's up to you. Perhaps you're swayed by athletic accomplishments, or maybe you think politics carries more weight. Did someone in the bracket not live in St. Louis Park long enough to really count as a true "Parkite?" Let that play a role in your vote if you want, too.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Click here to see the full bracket (NOTE: You don't vote on this page...scroll down for that)

Whatever your reasoning, we want to hear it! Use the comment section below to back up your pick, or talk smack about someone else's (please keep it family friendly and in good fun).

To spice it up, every Patch user that posts a comment throughout the tournament will be entered into a random drawing for a $20 gift card. You must be 18+ and a U.S. resident to qualify. Each user who posts will receive one entry into the drawing, regardless of how many actual comments he/she posts. For more, see Patch's Official Rules.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We've broken the bracket into two regions—"Orange" and "Black." Today through Sunday at 9 p.m., you can vote on all the Orange first-round games. Then, from March 19-21, we'll open up first round voting in the Black Region. The rest of the tournament schedule will be as follows:

  • Second round voting (both regions): March 22-25
  • Third round voting: March 26-28
  • Semifinal voting: March 29-April 1
  • Championship voting: April 2-4

For more of the "Ultimate St. Louis Park Bracket," be sure to head to our Facebook and Twitter pages for a little smack talk. And sign-up for our daily newsletter to stay up on all the results.

Round 1 Bios: Orange Region

  • Al Franken (1 seed): A current Minnesota senator, Franken was born in New York but attended St. Louis Park schools from kindergarten through 10th grade. He is also know for his comedic career, which included two stints on "Saturday Night Live." 
  • Pete Hautman (16): Hautman is an author of novels for young adults, including "Godless," which won the 2004 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. He moved to the Park at age five and graduated from .
  • Scott Olson (8): Olson is credited as being the inventor of modern in-line skates, and he and his brother founded Rollerblade, Inc. in 1980. Olson grew up in the park and graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1977.
  • Bobby Z (9): Bobby Rivkin, or as he's known on stage, Bobby Z, played drums for Prince and the Revolution from 1978 to 1987. He is also a successful producer and songwriter. Bobby Z grew up in St. Louis Park and attended Brookside School.
  • Peter Himmelman (5): Himmelman was the frontman for the band Sussman Lawrence. He has been nominated for both an Emmy and a Grammy. Himmelman was born in St. Louis Park and he met his bandmates while in .
  • T.J. Bohn (12): Bohn is a former MLB player who graduated from St. Louis Park High School. He played 32 games for Philadelphia and Seattle over two seasons (2006 and 2008). He hit his first and only MLB homerun in 2006 with the Mariners.
  • Erik Rasmussen (4): Rasmussen played hockey for SLP, and in 1995, he earned the Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award. He went on to play for the University of Minnesota and was drafted seventh overall in the 1996 NHL Draft. MNHockeyHub.com recently named Rasmussen the 62nd best player in the history of Minnesota high school hockey.
  • Dan Israel (13): Israel is an accomplished local musician who grew up in St. Louis Park. He has received critical acclaim in several national magazines and has been showcased at the prestigious South by Southwest Music Festival.
  • Shjon Podein (6): Podein is the current boys hockey coach at St. Louis Park High School. He has lived in St. Louis Park the last four years. A 10-year NHL veteran, Podein won the Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche.
  • Steve Simon (11): Simon represents part of St. Louis Park in the Minnesota House of Representatives and lives in the Park. His impassioned opposition to a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage drew .
  • Mark Rosen (3): Rosen is WCCO-TV’s sports director, anchor and reporter. He graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1970—a year after he started working at the station.
  • Wayne Packard (14): Packard was the owner of Culligan Water Conditioning in Minnetonka. He started his business in 1946 with a single St. Louis Park location.
  • Dan Wilson (7): Wilson was the frontman of the band Semisonic (known for the song "Closing Time"). He also contributed three songs to Adele's recent smash album, "21." Wilson graduated from St. Louis Park High School.
  • Halsey Hall (10): Hall was a longtime baseball writer and broadcaster, calling Minnesota Twins games in the 1960s and early '70s. He coined the phrase "Holy Cow!" while on air. Hall lived in the same St. Louis Park home for 55 years.
  • Joel Coen (2): Along with brother Ethan, Joel Coen has won multiple Academy Awards as director of films such as "Fargo," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "No Country For Old Men." Joel is the older of the two Coen brothers, and he graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1973.
  • Greg Howard (15): Howard is the creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip "Sally Forth." He grew up in St. Louis Park.

Special thanks to the St. Louis Park Historical Society for providing much of the biographical information used above.


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