Andy is a proud Decorah resident, whose lineage goes back 7 generations on his mother’s Larson side to Winneshiek County’s first Norwegian settler, Ole Halvorson Valle. On his father’s Carlson side, Andy’s Decorah heritage extends 5 generations back to 1897.
He is a graduate of Decorah High School (Class of 98, LET’S GO VIKES) and the University of Iowa (GO HAWKS!). He spent some time moving around in his 20s, but always knew Decorah would be the place he would return to. He and his wife, Marnie (2004 Luther College graduate), moved back to Decorah in 2014. Shortly thereafter, he went back to school to earn his teaching degree and has been a public school teacher since 2016. He’s a dedicated and passionate educator with over a decade of applicable teaching experience. He has invaluable experience teaching social studies at the high school level, and is committed to fostering critical thinking, cultural awareness, and civic responsibility in his students. He has modeled this with his dedication to public service.
Andy’s greatest accomplishment is that of father to his two wonderful daughters, Marit and Daphne. The family enjoys their goofy Old English Sheepdog, Ole, and two cats, Kevin & Cheeto.
In his free time Andy loves spending time with his family, watching Iowa football and basketball, golfing, playing pickleball, going to the movies, and traveling.
Andy is very proud of two personal accomplishments: being a recovering alcoholic and cancer survivor. In his young adult years, he had a substance abuse problem, sought professional help in 2007, and has been sober ever since. In 2021 he was diagnosed with AML leukemia. In 2022 he received a bone marrow transplant from his sister, Katie, and has been in remission ever since. Andy believes these two pivotal experiences have made him a stronger person who understands adversity and how to navigate it.