Making Hanna home

"I was born and raised in West Virginia," Ted Kranenberg Jr., the new Hanna Marshal said. "After high school, I joined the military."

From the military, Kranenberg found himself in demand as a location scout for events like Lollapalooza.

"They didn't want the traditional venues, so that is what I did for them for about two and half years," Kranenberg said. "It was a blast and I got to meet so many musicians. Its funny, when people look at me and learn of what I did, they ask with a real question in their voice,' You are a metalhead?'"

From that early job, he went to work for a major airline. He did this for 15 years.

"I worked my way up the ladder and ended up becoming ramp operations manager for Dulles, Washington National (Ronald Reagan) and Baltimore/Washington (Thurgood Marshall) airports," Kranenberg said. "Then the company decided to do away with regional managers and only have station managers. So they offered me a job in Minneapolis as a team leader."

Kranenberg knew the airline industry well because his father had worked for Marriott Corporation in the airline catering division.

"He was world renowned," Kranenberg said. "Although we worked in the same industry, we worked very different operations."

After 9/11 the airline filed for bankruptcy and offered a buyout program for managers.

"I took it and left the airline industry to go back to school," Kranenberg said. "Before the airline, I had studied Marketing/Business Management at Mountain State University (MSU), but just before I was going to graduate the school lost its accreditation, and I ended up with a degree that was worthless. So I went back to school in Minnesota and went for a degree in criminal justice."

MSU closed effective January 1, 2013. The Higher Learning Commission was heavily criticized for its closed door decision-making policies and lack of the availability of official minutes detailing its discussions and actions during this time.

"The way I look at the school closure is, when one door shuts, another door opens," Kranenberg said. "There is always opportunity and you just have to find it."

Kranenberg said when he was a teenager, he once went on a ride along with a family friend who was a deputy sheriff.

"He was one of the most decorated guys in the state after serving in the Korean and Vietnam wars. I saw the respect he had from the whole community and I never forgot it," Kranenberg said. "When I decided to change my life, working in law enforcement was very appealing to me."

Kranenberg went to work on an Indian reservation as a GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Training) officer. On this reservation, there were seven schools and 987 students where Kranenberg introduced various programs to help. While he was doing this work, he got the attention of Steven Jobs and was sent a "Crystal Apple".

"Steve Jobs wanted to reward educators," Kranenberg said. "So while I was at the Indian reservation, I got an overnight delivery from Steve Jobs. At the time, I was asking myself, 'Is this the guy who runs Apple?' It came with a letter that explained why I got this award from him. I was humbled and I still don't know how he found out about me."

In addition to the Crystal Apple, he was awarded an "Eagle Feather" by the reservation for his GREAT work.

Kranenberg said he believes in being a resource to those he serves in the community.

"You have to be able to apply the law firmly and effectively without being heavy-handed," Kranenberg said. "My job is to serve those I have been hired to protect. I have to be a resource where I can to help those who need it. Law enforcement was designed to protect the neighborhoods. We, as officers of the law, have to make that clear with our actions."

While in Minneapolis, he had contacts in Wyoming who encouraged him to consider moving to the Cowboy State.

"Platte County offered me a job and I took it," Kranenberg said. "It was there I met Jeff (former Hanna Marshal Jeff Neimark) and we considering setting up a Marshal agency. I came out here and learned about this community to see how we could apply it where I was."

Because of his experience he had in Hanna with Neimark, when Kastenberg heard about the Marshal job, he wanted to apply for the position. The new Marshal believes in working as a team with other agencies in the town, such as the fire department, EMT services and the town government.

"We need to rely on each other," Kranenberg said. "We are a team and all need to work together."

Kranenberg is married with eight children. He met his wife while working with the airlines. She had one daughter and together they have had seven children.

"The kids age from 23 to six. It is a big range," Kranenberg said. "We have been together for 23 years."

Kranenberg is excited to have his family in a town like Hanna.

"I grew up in small towns and having a big family was normal," Kranenberg said. "Being a parent is the hardest job I have ever had in my life. It is also the most rewarding. A place like Hanna is good for a family like mine. I want my kids to see how hard work will be rewarded and how teamwork is important in life."

Kranenberg said he wants to help the community be a wonderful place to live.

"I have seen communities where law enforcement has been considered an us/them situation," Kranenberg said. "I don't want that. It is why I came to the Vet breakfast put on by the high school. It is why I am a judge at the elementary school's cooking contest. Next week, I intend to go to the senior center. I want this community to know I am approachable and will provide citizens with as many resources as I can."