Shawn Henry plants a tree outside Oak Hall in honor of his late wife, Linda (Pearson) Henry, during the "Replant our Roots" tree planting project on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Bemidji State University Alumni and Foundation launched the "Replant our Roots" campaign after 200 trees were toppled in the June 2025 windstorm.
BEMIDJI — Bemidji State University alumni and others endured bitter winds, rain and sleet but got the work done during a tree planting ceremony on campus Monday, May 4.
More than 200 towering pine, spruce and oak trees were toppled and damaged on campus during the severe windstorm in June 2025.
The BSU Alumni and Foundation launched the “Replant Our Roots” campaign last fall. Donors could commemorate trees in honor of some connection to Bemidji State and even get their hands dirty by planting them in Monday’s ceremony.
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE
Allyssa “A.J.” Joseph, BSU Alumni & Foundation executive director, partipates in the "Replant Our Roots" project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Foundation Executive Director A.J. Joseph addressed the donors of some of the 80 trees planted during the ceremony, thanking them for their assistance with restoring the “University in the Pines” campus.
“These trees, this is another way that you have put your support forward and demonstrated to the campus, to the current students, the class of 2026 and beyond, how much you love this place and what it means to be an alum,” Joseph said during pre-planting gathering at the David Park House.
Bob Green is a BSU alum from 1957, when it was known as the Bemidji State Teachers College. A career Navy veteran with roots in Warroad, he and several of his relatives and friends were in the music education program.
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Bob Green from the Bemidji State University class of '57 talks about donating a tree to honor his brother Jim during the "Replant Our Roots" project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at BSU.
Green reached out to the Foundation last August after driving through the area following the storm, wishing to assist with the replanting effort. His commemorative tree is for his late brother Jim, who also attended Bemidji State.
"I know we're not going to see the maturity of these trees. At least I won't. I just turned 91,” Green said Monday morning to the cheering room. “But, to come on the campus and to think of the trees that were here, I do remember that.”
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE
Aubrey Koman holds a plaque dedicated to her friend, Linda (Pearson) Henry, at the "Replant our Roots" tree planting ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Aubrey Koman is a ‘97 BSU grad, and she and her friends lived in the dorms at Oak Hall. She and her friends and family planted two dedicated trees near the dormitory Monday.
“We still get together every summer,” Koman said of the lifelong friendships formed during her time at BSU. “We purchased a tree in honor of that friendship. And unfortunately, one of our friends had passed, and she was an integral part of our group, so we also purchased a tree in honor of Linda.”
The Foundation sold out of its tree dedications, which were $1,000 each. The nonprofit partnered with Woodchuck USA for sourcing species of trees native to the region for replanting the campus.
Funding for this environmental story was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE
Participants, including Bemidji State University Alumni & Foundation staffer Gwenia Fiskevold Gould and her father, BSU '80 alum Ted Fiskevold, dig a hole for a dedicated tree for the "Replant our Roots" ceremony on May 4, 2026.
1 of 12 — A participant digs a hole for a tree during the Replant our Roots tree planting project on May 4, 2026 at Bemidji State University.jpg
A participant digs a hole for a tree at the "Replant our Roots" tree planting project on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
2 of 12 — Shawn Henry plants a tree outside Oak Hall in honor of his late wife Linda (Pearson) Henry during the Replant our Roots tree planting project on May 4, 2026 at Bemidji State University.jpg
Shawn Henry plants a tree outside Oak Hall in honor of his late wife, Linda (Pearson) Henry, during the "Replant our Roots" tree planting project on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
3 of 12 — Shawn Henry attaches a plaque dedicated to his late wife, Linda (Pearson) Henry, on a newly planted tree outside Oak Hall during the Replant our Roots tree planting project on May 4, 2026 at Bemidji State University.jpg
Shawn Henry attaches a plaque dedicated to his late wife, Linda (Pearson) Henry, on a newly planted tree outside Oak Hall during the "Replant our Roots" tree planting project on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
4 of 12 — Shawn Henry shows the plaque dedicated to his late wife, Linda (Pearson) Henry, on a newly planted tree outside Oak Hall during the Replant our Roots tree planting project on May 4, 2026 at Bemidji State University.jpg
Shawn Henry shows the plaque dedicated to his late wife, Linda (Pearson) Henry, on a newly planted tree outside Oak Hall during the Replant our Roots tree planting project on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
5 of 12 — Gary Wall of Woodchuck USA speaks during the Replant Our Roots project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.jpg
Gary Wall of Woodchuck USA speaks during the "Replant Our Roots" project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
6 of 12 — Aubrey Koman holds the plaque dedicated to her friend, Linda (Pearson) Henry, at the Replant our Roots tree planting ceremony on May 4, 2026 at Bemidji State University.jpg
Aubrey Koman holds a plaque dedicated to her friend, Linda (Pearson) Henry, at the "Replant our Roots" tree planting ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
7 of 12 — Participants in the Replant our Roots tree planting project dig a hole for a tree on May 4, 2026 at Bemidji State University.jpg
Participants, including Bemidji State University Alumni & Foundation staffer Gwenia Fiskevold Gould and her father, BSU '80 alum Ted Fiskevold, dig a hole for a dedicated tree for the "Replant our Roots" ceremony on May 4, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
8 of 12 — Participants in the Replant our Roots tree planting project stand for a photo on May 4, 2026 at Bemidji State University.jpg
Participants in the "Replant our Roots" tree planting project stand for a photo on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
9 of 12 — Allyssa “A.J.” Joseph, BSU Alumni & Foundation Executive Director during the Replant Our Roots project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.jpg
Allyssa “A.J.” Joseph, BSU Alumni & Foundation executive director, partipates in the "Replant Our Roots" project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
10 of 12 — Woodchuck USA founder Benjamin VandenWymellenberg speaking during the Replant Our Roots project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.jpg
Woodchuck USA founder Benjamin VandenWymellenberg speaks during the "Replant Our Roots" project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
11 of 12 — Bob Green '57 talks about donating a tree to honor his brother Jim during the Replant Our Roots project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.jpg
Bob Green from the Bemidji State University class of '57 talks about donating a tree to honor his brother Jim during the "Replant Our Roots" project ceremony on May 4, 2026, at BSU.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
12 of 12 — 02 Shawn Henry plants a tree outside Oak Hall in honor of his late wife Linda (Pearson) Henry during the Replant our Roots tree planting project on May 4, 2026 at Bemidji State University.jpg
Shawn Henry plants a tree outside Oak Hall in honor of his late wife, Linda (Pearson) Henry, during the "Replant our Roots" tree planting project on May 4, 2026, at Bemidji State University.
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Larissa Donovan has been in the Bemidji area's local news scene since 2016, joining the KAXE newsroom in 2023 after several years as the News Director for the stations of Paul Bunyan Broadcasting.
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