Office of Public Affairs

Staff

A native of southern Minnesota, Kevin Harter earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Prior to joining the UW-River Falls as director of media relations in 2008, Harter was a reporter for major metropolitan daily newspapers, including the Cleveland Plain Dealer and most recently, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, for a total of 20 years.

Prior to that, he was managing editor of community newspapers in Iowa and Minnesota for five years. After covering education for the Pioneer Press, Harter covered Wisconsin, including education and government.

Harter has also written for a host of magazines, including Reader’s Digest, and has won state and national journalism awards for feature writing, investigative reporting, and breaking news. As a columnist, he has also received first place awards from the Iowa Associated Press, the Ohio Associated Press, and the National Newspaper Association.

He enjoys Big 10 football, Minnesota Twins baseball, traveling, reading, American history, stand-up comedy, blues music, photography, birding, and spending time with his wife, Dr. Patti Kunze, a board certified internal medicine physician, and their two dogs, Jack, an Airedale-Irish Soft Coated Wheaten terrier, and Henry, a poodle-Cairn terrier mix as well as three cats.

Jim Thies is a veteran of sports media relations and has been the Falcons sports information director since 1976.

He has served on several national, state and local committees for the College Sports Information Directors of America and the Wisconsin Sports Information Directors Association. For the past decade, he's served as the sports information director for the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.

His game-day publications and media guides have won more than 20 national awards for excellence. He manages 15 student writers and statisticians and also serves as assistant director of public affairs. He is also the manager of the UWRF Falcon Athletics Web site, which provides up-to-the-minute information for fans, media and the campus community. He is also a member of the UWRF Athletic Hall of Fame committee.

Thies also coordinates the UW-RF media internship program and official Web site for the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp. The KCC Summer Training Camp Web site has received numerous awards and is a must-read by fans near and far. He is a member of the American Football Writers Association and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

He is married to Cheri and they have two grown children, James and Kairsten. Thies is also active in the Hudson Hockey Association and St. Patricks Catholic Church. Thies serves as the Hudson High School girl's hockey coach and has led them to four consecutive state championship titles.

Thies earned his undergraduate degree in mass communications from Mankato State (Minn.) University.

Jens Gunelson has served as director of photography services since 1977. He has a master's degree in instructional media and technology from Mankato State University.

In addition to his responsibilities providing campus photography services, Gunelson also provides passport photos, prints as well as "best of" campus event CDs for a nominal fee.

As head photographer, Gunelson has documented the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp since its beginning in 1991. A rare photo opportunity presented itself when Gunelson photographed President George W. Bush, who visited the KCC summer camp on Aug. 18, 2004.

Gunelson also serves as a computer specialist for the Office of Public Affairs. He has created a photo archive Web site featuring current campus scenes and events.

His daughter is a 2005 graduate of the B.S.W. program at UWRF. He is the newsletter editor for the Unitarian Universalist Society of River Falls. His other interests include woodworking, digital imaging technology and spending time with his granddaughters.

Deb Toftness joined the Office of Public Affairs in 1989. Her responsibilities include office management, supervision of student workers, and writing, editing and distributing Falcon Daily, the campus electronic newsletter, which received a 2006 national award of distinction from The Communicator Awards and a Hermes Creative Award in 2007. She also provides assistance with news release editing, writing and distribution. Toftness has worked with the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp at UWRF since the first camp in 1991.

She began her career at UWRF in the Director's Office of the Chalmer Davee Library in 1985 before transferring to the English department in 1986. Prior jobs included working for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and for West Publishing Company.

Toftness earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism from UW-Eau Claire. She enjoys spending time with her four children; one daughter is a graduate of UW-La Crosse and another attends UW-Eau Claire.

Toftness frequently volunteers at school and community activities. She is an annual participant in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life and a volunteer with the River Falls High School Band Boosters and local 4-H club.

Brenda K. Bredahl joined the Public Affairs Office in 2004 as a part-time communications specialist. Part of her duties include coordinating the Public Affairs Internship Program. In addition to being a UWRF alumna, she has taught occasionally in the journalism department since 2000. She was a freelance writer/researcher for UWRF's 125th anniversary publication, which received a CASE bronze award. While an undergraduate, she was an associate editor in the UWRF publications office from 1985 to 1990 as well as a student copy editor and reporter for the UWRF Student Voice.

Currently she also is a communications consultant for various organizations and companies and a freelance writer whose articles and photos have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Corporate Report Wisconsin, Grit, Historic Traveler, Milwaukee magazine, Minnesota Monthly, Wisconsin Trails, TravelWisconsin.com, Wisconsin People & Ideas and other publications.

She is a former consulting copy editor of International Wolf and Wisconsin West magazines. Her previous staff positions include associate editor at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, associate editor at Minnesota Medicine magazine, publications manager for the Minnesota Historical Society and public relations representative for Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College-New Richmond. She is a two-time winner of the Minnesota Government Communicator's Northern Lights Award of Excellence for annual report writing for the Minnesota Historical Society.

Bredahl has a B.S. with a double major in journalism and art from UWRF, and an M.S. in mass communication from the University of Minnesota. She is married to Tony, an art director in the UWRF publications office. They have a son.