East High
Dane Milton
Miri Nannestad
Annika Bremer
Jax Theeler
Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Brooklyn Ocker
Caden Waugh
North High
Phuong Tran
Vanessa Truong
Derek Folchert
Bishop Heelan
Jack Schramm
Mackenzie Tott
Brigid McGowan
Dakota Valley
Laila Sitting Crow
March 1, 2025–The Walt Fiegel Coaching With Character award was presented to the family of the late Coach Butch Pedersen of West Branch. The beloved hall of fame coach spent his entire 40 year career at West Branch. He lost his battle with blood cancer in April of 2023, but his memory lives on.
This Iowa Football Coaches Association award recognizes a person who embodies the high character, integrity, concern for kids, and service to the coaching profession that were evident during Coach Fiegel’s career.
Learn more about the Butch Pedersen Legacy Foundation
Bishop Heelan
Abigail White
Fernanda Garcia
Kalyn Koob
Dakota Valley
Ashlynn Stusse
Brendan Barnett
Karlee Hughes
Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Ella Focht
Julian Jervik
Julian McGinty
East High
Arianna Miller
Gracie Bruening
Luke Vander Weide
Mackenzie Crawford
Olivia Mentzer
Uziel Garcia
North High
Anahi Sanchez
West High
Jersie Cherkas
Don Anderson is the 2023 recipient of the Iowa Football Coaches Association (IFCA) Walt Fiegel Coaching Award. A native and high school graduate of Dows, Anderson attended Iowa Central Community College and Northwest Missouri State University before entering coaching.
He has been a head football coach for 40 years at the high school level and a college football assistant coach at Buena Vist for one. His varsity stops included Dumont, Thompson-Woden-Crystal Lake, North Iowa, Rockwell City-Lytton, Sumner-Fredericksburg, Battle Creek-Ida Grove and Iowa Falls-Alden.
Anderson has had teams qualify for the state playoffs in four different classes and has served as a past IFCA president and Academic All-State committee chairman. Don has also coached boys and girls basketball, boys and girls track, baseball and golf.
IFCA Walt Fiegel Coaching with Character Past Award Winners
2004 Ken Winkler, West Marshall
2005 Jerry Staton, Albia
2006 Tom Stone, Pekin
2007 Ed Thomas, Aplington-Parkersburg
2008 Bob McCoy, Bedford
2009 Darrell Schumacher, Oskaloosa
2010 Gaylord Schelling, Atlantic
2011 Bill Kibby, JSPC
2012 Curt Bladt, Harlan
2013 Bob Jensen, Mount Pleasant
2014 Pat Mitchell, Cedar Falls
2015 Mike Dirksen, Mason City Newman
2016 Jerry Pezzetti, Ankeny Centennial
2017 Bob Howard, Webster City
2018 Lyle Alumbaugh, Panorama
2019 Bob Sanger, Britt-West Hancock
2020 Steve Milder, West Central, Maynard
2021 Kevin Bowman, Maquoketa
2022 Gary Swenson Valley, West Des Moines
2023 Don Anderson
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — “Tough Times Don’t Last, Tough People Do!” and “Don’t ever forget where you came from.”
Just two of the many sayings former Sioux City East football coach Walt Fiegel coined while coaching.
Now, 20 years after his passing a foundation in his name continues to share his words and his ways.
You will find his name on the billboard outside East High’s practice football field. His picture, in the school’s trophy case and his memory, all over Siouxland.
“Coach Fiegel was a mentor, a motivator, a leader. Even today when we see videos of the past I get chills. I get a chill talking about it right now because he brought out the best in every person on that team,” said Jeff Croston, President of the Walt Fiegel Foundation.
Croston should know. He played for coach Fiegel in 1983 and 1984 and was part of the school’s only football state championship team.
Twenty years after Fiegel unexpectedly passed away Croston keeps his memory alive as president of the Walt Fiegle Foundation.
“When we started this off it was to perpetuate the characteristics of coach Fiegel. The inspiration he had on people. We had no idea how long this was going to go we just wanted to do something in his name,” Croston said.
Since 2003, the foundation has hosted a fundraising dinner and golf event. Proceeds fund a scholarship endowment for graduating seniors. After initially offering two scholarships on Friday, the Walt Fiegel Foundation will award twenty, $2,000 scholarships at this year’s dinner.
20 of 199 handed out since Walt’s death totaling $289,000 in 20 years.
“It’s amazing that this has kept going. At some point someone said this is a great idea but it won’t last 5 years,” said Fiegle’s daughter Jill Persinger. “I feel like my dad always had good luck fundraising getting whatever he needed for his kids. A pair of shoes or whatever they needed. The community trusted him and they were very generous and they still are.”
Fiegel was a Blackraider through and through but his caring ways reached much further.
” He had all sorts of ties through the state of Iowa, college coaches, coaching clinics, locally the church. He wasn’t just a coach. He taught science and PE so he was touching every kid that came through this school,” said Croston.
“He had a knack of making people feel special. He recognized kids basically kids from besides East High Sioux City and kids all over the state,” added Persinger.
Current East head football coach Mike Winklepleck experienced that connection as a crosstown high school rival.
“To see the amount of scholarships they have given out over 20 years, not only are they scholarships for East students but all the schools… you see people from Heelan, West, North, Dakota Valley, sergent Bluff. They all come together to support what Walt Fiegel was all about,” said SC East football coach Mike Winklepleck.
“Ya know Walt Fiegel was kind of a big name around here so winning his scholarship is something look forward to. At East family is everything, “said scholarship recipient Jackson Johnson.
As the foundation looks ahead to providing it’s 200th scholarship next year… Walt Fiegel’s link to Siouxland is ever-present.
“Makes me feel proud, People involved players and community. It’s a great community,” said Persinger.
“When you think of East High you think of Walt Fiegel. It’s amazing the things he did here and the stories you hear,” added Winklepleck.
“We have parents of ours still attending. They are in their 80’s and they remember Walt and what Walt did for their kids, You see it all the time,” Croston said.
The 20th Annual Walt Fiegel Foundation will be held May 18-19-20, 2023
Happy Hour – Thursday, May 18th – 5:59pm at Bob Roe’s Point After
Dinner, Scholarship Recipeint Recognition, Auction – Friday, May 19th at Sgt. Bluff Community Center starting at 5:29am
Golf Tournment on Saturday, May 20th at Whispering Creek starting at 11:59am
Gary Swenson, Radcliffe native and graduate, has spent 48 years coaching high school football, including the last 46 seasons as head coach. His stops have included Manning, West Marshall, Spencer, and currently Valley, West Des Moines.
Swenson has an overall record of 392-120 and taken his teams to the playoffs for the last 36 consecutive seasons. That run includes 21 semifinals and now 11 championship games, with titles in 1994, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2011.
Swenson has served as a master trainer in USA Football’s Heads-Up program, and coached for USA Football’s National Team at the 2009 Junior World Tournament (U19) and 2014 International Bowl (U17).
He and his wife DeAnn have three children – Jeff, Shannan, and Greg – and eight grandchildren.
Coach Walt Fiegel was the long time football coach at East high School in Sioux City, Iowa. During his tenure at Sioux City, he served as head sophomore coach and head varsity coach three different times. His Black Raider team won the Class 4A State Title in 1984.
Coach Walt Fiegel served as the Executive Secretary of the Iowa Football Coaches Association from 1977-1994, 17 years!
This award recognizes a person who embodies the high character, integrity, concern for kids, and service to the profession that were evident during Coach Fiegel’s career.
Chloe Best – Bishop Heelan High School
Ethan Breyfogle – East High School
Gabrielle Comstock – West High School
Ryan Crawford – East High School
Anesa Davenport – Heelan High School
Lizbeth Garcia-Ramirez – Heelan High School
Yvette Guerrero – Heelan High School
Mason Hardin – East High School
Paige LaFave – East High School
Kaleb Nutt – East High School
Alex Reinhardt – Dakota Valley High School
Karlie Stoos – East High School
Emma Urbanski – Dakota Valley High School
The Walt Fiegel Foundation annual dinner and golf tournament will be held August 20-21, 2021.
We are planning a happy hour for Thursday, August 19. Location TBD.
Friday night, August 20, we will have the dinner/auction and scholarship awards at the Sergeant Bluff Community Center. Scholarship recipients names will be announced on our Facebook page in May.
Steve Milder began the 2020 season seventh in wins among active Iowa high school football coaches, leading teams for 45 years as a head coach. In his tenure at West Central, Maynard, he has coached 16 playoff teams including a state championship squad in 1997 and a 1978 runner-up.
A graduate of Regina, Iowa City and member of their athletic Hall of Fame, he competed in football and baseball while a student at the University of Northern Iowa. Milder has coached four sports at West Central and been active in many school programs.
He has facilitated the Holiday Boost Program to provide Christmas for families in his community for over 25 years. In 2013, he was selected for an Excellence in Mentoring award by the Iowa Mentoring Partnership.
Milder and his wife married nine days before his coaching career began and they remain together through 49 football and 143 total sport seasons. Their sons are Matt and Mark, and they have three grandchildren: Mackenzie, Alexis, and Jace.