Stepping Up for Mitchell
For his kids, his church, or his job – Jon Mueller is ready to help
By Megan Luther
On a November Sunday evening, the sound of dribbling basketballs bounces off the walls of Mitchell High School, still sporting its brand-new smell.
Jon Mueller coaches his sixth-grade basketball team for Palace City Basketball Association in November. He also serves on the board.
Waiting for their turn in the gym, a dozen sixth-grade girls warm up in the hallway for practice with Coach Jon Mueller.
Or “Johnny” as one player calls him. Or “Johnny Appleseed,” another says. They point to his bald head.
“I answer to whatever,” Jon says.
Jon has a lot of titles. Most are from volunteer gigs, including coach of the Palace City sixth-grade girls’ basketball team, where his oldest daughter plays.
His involvement started years ago when he and other parents were tired of driving the 90 minutes to Harrisburg for their kids to play in a basketball league. So they started their own league in Mitchell for first through sixth graders.
It’s those problem-solving skills that make Jon a great asset as Network Manager at Mitchell Telecom.
Like a good Midwestern manager, Jon demurs. “I’d say that our whole company is like that. We always find a way to make stuff work.”
“Manager” isn’t his favorite word either. “I am just the one that approves your timesheet. We’re all a team here.”
That team runs the various networks of computers, data storage and underground fiber cables.
Jon’s a curious guy, says Mitchell Telecom CEO and General Manager Scott Peper. “Not knowing the answer eats at him, which I appreciate.”
Jon’s been with Mitchell Telecom for nearly 16 years. “Some days I feel like I’m still the new guy on the block. We just have so many tenured employees.”
He earned his computer information systems degree at Dakota State University, where he ran track and met his wife, Katie. Self-described “sports nuts,” Katie and Jon passed the athletic gene onto their daughters, who are in sixth and third grade. They both play softball and volleyball, and each daughter plays on two different basketball teams.
Jon serves on the board of that Mitchell league they formed, Palace City Basketball Association.
“Anything his kids are doing, he wants to be involved in to make it a positive experience for his daughters, but also, a positive experience for everyone involved,” says fellow board member Renee LeBrun.
As Jon sees it, you can complain about the community and do nothing or put some equity into making the community better. “It’s easy to say stuff, but it’s harder to do stuff. We want to make this the best place for our girls. So for us, it’s kind of a no-brainer that we want to be involved in everything we can community-wise,” he says.
Five years ago, when First Lutheran Church didn’t have a pastor to run their youth program, Jon and Katie stepped up. On Wednesday nights, they run Journey with Jesus, a supper and Bible school program for more than 70 youth and their families. Katie plans and coordinates while Jon leads in front. On a recent Wednesday night, after a meal of chicken and noodles, Jon led more than 100 people in prayer.
“Let’s bow our heads and pray for God’s blessing. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for another night with Journey with Jesus.…”
Jon has no formal training. He’s not a pastor, never been to seminary. But he has a gift.
“He has a calming presence,” says First Lutheran Senior Pastor Scott Munger. “When Jon’s around, you know things will get done and things will happen.”
That can-do attitude was evident when Jon was a teenager in his hometown of Crofton, Nebraska. The closest place to get fireworks around the 4th of July was 15 minutes north in Yankton, South Dakota. But residents were getting busted when they tried to drive them across the border. South Dakota didn’t allow customers to take the fireworks out-of-state.
So Jon and his buddy decided to open their own fireworks stand. More community asset than money maker, they even displayed a $1 table. “If a kid came in with five bucks, they could walk out with five things,” he says. “We took joy in seeing other people’s joy.”
They decided to buy fireworks in bulk to save money, but you can’t just store them anywhere. Again, Jon came up with the solution. Using plastic sheets and humidifiers, he weatherproofed his parents’ outbuilding. “It was pretty rudimentary,” Jon says.
Jon Mueller referees a Palace City Basketball Association game earlier this year.
It was in Nebraska where Jon formed his favorite hobby. When his grandparents retired from dairy farming, his grandpa invested in woodworking and taught Jon as a kid.
During his free Saturdays, which rarely exist during basketball season, Jon is in his shed completing projects for his two side businesses: woodshop54.com and tradingcardpuzzles.com.
The 54 is a nod to Jon’s dad, who was born in 1954, and Jon’s woodworking grandpa, who lived on 554thAvenue in rural Crofton. Jon customizes signs, puzzles and leather patches for hats.
The puzzle business combines his two favorite pastimes: sports cards and woodworking. Jon glues trading cards onto wood, then laser cuts them to make puzzles.
He’s careful to keep it as a hobby and not a job. “This is my getaway,” he says.
But it’s that tinkering that makes him good at his Mitchell Telecom job.
“We take it personally when stuff doesn’t go right,” Jon says.
When a customer has an issue, it makes a difference when you have a team that cares — and a manager like Jon, who just can’t let it go until he solves the puzzle.
Megan Luther, a lifelong storyteller, has called Mitchell home for more than 30 years
