moorhead city council

Jen Troska and Nicole Atherton, winner in the nonprofit category. (Photos/ Lisa Bode.)

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Five Moorhead residents have been honored by the Moorhead Human Rights Commission for their work “making significant contributions to human rights in our community.” The awards were presented by rights commission leaders Jen Troska and Siham Amedy at Monday’s Moorhead City Council meeting.

Winners and their affiliations include:

Nicole Atherton, an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities and volunteer for The Arc of West Central Minnesota. She is also a member of the Arc’s regional advisory committee. She was chosen in the nonprofit category.

Karen Pifher, head of Creating Community Consulting, an equity-focused organization that works to build community well-being through inclusion. A winner in the education category, she worked as a hospital social worker and community health manager before forming her company.

Verna Kragnes and Rick Hall, whose New Roots organization helps new farmers become successful. The couple, honored in the education and nonprofit categories, provide land, access to water, and the tools new Americans and others need to become independent growers.

Tammi Kromenaker, director of the Red River Women’s Clinic, which moved to Moorhead this fall after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade triggered a North Dakota law banning health-care facilities that provide abortion. Her award in the civic/community category was received by Sarah Haeder.