Music & Dance Music and Dance - May/June 2018 | Page 20

Music & Dance News
May/June 2018
Page 20
Withrow Ballroom continued
Hankinson’s Polka Fest
Hankinson Polka Fest
When she was a toddler, the new owner danced
at a family wedding in the late 1980s with her
cousin, Ann Miron.
ready to go,” said Men-
dele, who is the niece
of Washington County
commissioner and for-
mer Hugo mayor, Fran
Miron. “I’ve always
loved Hugo, and was
jealous of family who
lived there, so the fact
this was (near) Hugo was
just an added bonus.”
Who is Laura Miron
Mendele?
Mendele, a mortgage
loan officer, grew up on
a farm in Princeton, MN,
and graduated from the
University of Wiscon-
sin-River Falls in 2008,
with a bachelor’s degree
in education.
She taught second
grade for two years in
the Princeton School
District, and then got a
master’s degree in busi-
ness administration from
the Minnesota School of
Business.
She worked as an
events planner for Buf-
falo Wild Wings corpo-
rate, worked at Maple
Grove Tavern in Maple
Grove, and produced
and hosted sports- and
real estate-focused radio
shows for radio stations
WCCO and ESPN.
She later earned cer-
tification to become a
full-time mortgage loan
officer with Envoy Mort-
gage of Edina.
Mendele and her hus-
band have two children;
Madden, 5; and Afton,
16 months.
Let’s hope they like
polka music. “They’re
going to be spending a
lot of time at the ball-
room,” she said.