KTD FEATURED SPEAKERS

               1939      No Keynote Speaker

               1940     Gov. Harold Stassen

               1941       No Speaker – first Evening Torchlight Parade held

               1942      No Speaker – With World War II raging there was a mass induction of Navy enlistees – the 40-voice Navy Choir sang

               1943      No Speaker – Military Unity was featured and eight Civil Air Patrol plans flew overhead

               1944      Cancelled due to the war

               1945      Cancelled due to the war

               1946      Secretary of Agriculture Clinton Anderson, introduced by Minneapolis Mayor Hubert H. Humphrey

               1947      Gov. Luther Youngdahl

               1948      Miss America Bebe Shopp of Hopkins, MN, was honored guest, Senate candidate Joe Ball cancelled

               1949      Forty Sioux City businessmen were special guests

               1950      Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey

               1951      Sen. Edward Thye

               1952      Sen. John Sparkman, Alabama, DFL candidate for Vice President

               1953      Rep. Charles Hoeven, Iowa, cancelled two days prior to the event; Rep. Ralph Harvey, Indiana, took his place

               1954      Vice President Richard M. Nixon

               1955      Gov.  Orville Freeman

               1956      Sen. Estes Kefauver, Tennessee, DFL candidate for Vice President

               1957      Council Member Dr. Hans Theusner, Crailsheim, Germany

               1958      Secretary of the Interior Fred Seaton

               1959      Sen. Hubert Humphrey

               1960      Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, DFL Vice Presidential Candidate

               1961      Major General Frank H. Britton

               1962      Howard Bertsch, Administrator of the Farmers Home Administration

               1963      No political speaker – Navy’s Blue Angels Jet Team performed, dignitaries from Armour and Co. were special guests

               1964      Ambassador W. Averell Harriman of New York

               1965      Hubert H. Humphrey, Vice President

               1966      Sen. Robert Kennedy – brought 80,000 people to Worthington

               1967      Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, Arkansas

               1968      Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, New York

               1969      Elmer T. Klassen, Postmaster General

               1970      Sen. Charles Percy, Illinois

               1971      Sergeant Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps

               1972      Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey

               1973      In place of featured speaker, the city was host to Rebecca An King of Iowa, the newly crowned Miss America

               1974      Attorney General Elliott Richardson

               1975      Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey

               1976      No speaker – Hubert H. Humphrey was present

               1977      Gov. Rudy Perpich

               1978      Rep. John Anderson, Illinois

               1979      Gov. Al Quie

               1980      Sen. John Tower, Texas

               1981       Minnesota Attorney General, Hubert H. (Skip) Humphrey III

               1982      Sen. Rudy Boschwitz

               1983      Sen. David Durenberger

               1984      Sen. Rudy Boschwitz

               1985      Rep. Map Sweeney, Texas

               1986      The Rev. Jesse Jackson

               1987      Sen. David Durenberger

               1988      Minnesota Lt. Gov. Marlene Johnson

               1989      State Auditor Arne Carlson

               1990      Rep. Fred Grandy, Iowa

               1991      Brigadier General David H. Adamson

               1992      Sen. Paul Wellstone

               1993      Rep. Rod Grams

               1994      Rep. David Minge

               1995      Minnesota Lt. Gov. Joanne Benson

               1996      “National Teacher of the Year” Mary Beth Blegen & Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey

               1997      Sen. Rod Grams

               1998      Jesse Ventura, Candidate for Governor of Minnesota

               1999      Sec. of Agriculture, Gene Hugoson

               2000      Mrs. Minnesota, Susan Nelson

               2001      Tony Olivia – MN Twins

               2002      No Keynote Speaker

               2003      St. Paul Police Chief William Finney

               2004      Gov. Tim Pawlenty         

               2005      Lew Hudson & Jim Wychor

               2006      Andre Kirkwood

               2007      Babe Winkelman

               2008     Republican Candidate Brian Davis and Congressman Tim Walz

               2009     Major General Larry Shellito (Adjutant General of MN National Guard)

               2010      Earl Morse (Co-Chair of Honor Flight)

               2011       Liz Collin (WCCO TV)

               2012      Michael Patrick

               2013      Holly Hoffmann (Survivor Contestant – Nicaragua)

               2014      Lew Hudson & Jim Wychor

               2015      Dan Gable

               2016      Amy Klobuchar, US Senator

               2017      Paul Ten Haken

               2018      Duane Drost

               2019      Paul Summers LaRouche

               2021      Gordon Moore​​

               2022      Chuck Foreman

               2023      Rick Brandl