NDAPSSA Hall of Fame

Ryan Bakken
Grand Forks sportswriter

Inducted to the Hall of Fame: February 2007

Born: September 19, 1951 in Fosston, Minn.
High School: Graduated from Crookston (Minn.) High School, 1969.
College: Graduated from Moorhead State University, 1973.

Bakken joined the Grand Forks Herald sports department three months after graduating from college and continued working at the newspaper until his retirement more than 40 years later. He performed a number of roles at the paper, including a long stint as sports editor. Bakken was a three-time winner of the state sportswriter of the year award (1984, 1985, 1995). Twice Bakken wrote stories that took first place in national writing contests. He wrote news stories during the Herald's coverage of the 1997 Red River flood, helping the paper win the Pulitzer Prize that year. Bakken wrote a book, "Come Hell and High Water,'' about the 1997 flood.