Search for "Bret Filed"

I grew up in Brownsdale, Minnesota, a small town in the southeastern corner of the state near Austin & Rochester. After graduating from Hayfield High School, I attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. I was a music major, and received my B.A. in 1987. That same year, I met my future wife, a Cassville native. We were married in 1991.

My first job after college was teaching vocal music at Bloomington, Wisconsin, which later merged with another school to form River Ridge School District. A few years after consolidation, the new district cut the music staff from four teachers down to...