Service and sacrifice are two things Mike Steier understands well.
After graduating from New England High School, Steier volunteered in 2005 for a yearlong deployment to Iraq. Last year, he retired from the N.D. National Guard after 20 years of service.
After returning from Iraq and working as a farmhand, Steier went to Bismarck State College on the GI Bill and obtained his electrical lineworker degree. Shortly after, he was hired by Roughrider Electric Cooperative in Dickinson, and he’s worked for the co-op ever since.
Whether in the uniform of this country or in a co-op bucket truck, service and sacrifice come naturally to Steier. It’s something his family – wife, Sara, and their children, Treyten Krohmer, Tenli and Taysli – has learned, too.
FROM SOLDIER TO VETERAN
Until his retirement from the guard in 2023, Mike would be gone two or even three weekends a month. Between his one weekend on call with the co-op, a guard weekend and a drill weekend, he missed time with his family, who missed him.
“We make it work. It’s not terrible for us, there’s just some things we miss when he’s on call. Treyten had a football game in Williston (recently), and (Mike) couldn’t go to the game,” Sara says. “Retirement (from the guard) helped a little bit.”
One event Mike never missed, however, was Veterans Day in Sara’s kindergarten class.
Even before they met, Sara, a kindergarten teacher of 16 years, would invite soldiers into her classroom to talk about the meaning of Veterans Day. She didn’t have to look far to find a soldier after she married hers in 2015.
“The (kindergartners) don’t know what a veteran is, so we come in and talk about the six branches of the military. We show them what an MRE (meal ready-to-eat) is,” Mike says. “They love it. It’s a huge hit.”
FAMILY MAN
The Steiers have been enjoying more family time since Mike’s retirement as a military policeman with the National Guard. It leaves more time for Mom and Dad to play softball, to watch Treyten play sports, to see Tenli dance and to tend their large garden as a family. It also leaves time for Mike to teach his son how to hunt. This will be Treyten’s first year deer hunting, and the pair have been getting in some bow target practice.
Bowhunting is special for Mike.
“I actually got my first bow when I came back from Iraq. My uncle bought it for me as a welcome back gift, which was super nice of him. He actually bought me my first shotgun, too,” Mike says.
He has fond memories of hunting with his family.
“We used to go hunting in our van. That’s where we would actually put the deer, because you could haul them anywhere. You threw them in the back of the van. We took the seats out, and that’s what we used,” he says.
CO-OP FAMILY
Growing up, Mike attended Farmers Union Camp, which exposed him to cooperatives. Part of the curriculum at Farmers Union Camp is cooperative education. Campers set up a co-op store, where they learn about the cooperative model and principles.
Mike says it was a combination of the work and cooperative philosophy that was enticing about a co-op career.
“I kind of just fell in love with it. It was a lot of fun climbing poles and doing something different every day, all while helping the community,” Mike says.
That service to the community does not come without sacrifice. Maybe it means missing the bow hunt with your son. Or leaving your family on Christmas to restore another family’s Christmas lights. It’s a sacrifice made by co-op employees and their families, too.
May their service and sacrifice never be forgotten.
___
Cally Peterson is editor of North Dakota Living. She can be reached at cpeterson@ndarec.com.
