After 24 years of teaching music in the St. Croix Falls School District, Shawn Gudmunsen will receive the Wisconsin Award for Excellence in Teaching Music this week. The award ceremony is set for Oct. 25 in Madison, Wisconsin during the opening remarks of the Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA) State Conference.

Gudmunsen is originally from Cushing and is a St. Croix Falls graduate. His wife Paula is a second-grade teacher at St. Croix Falls as well and they have two sons, Seth and Evan. Seth is a junior at UW Superior studying music education and Evan is studying psychology as a freshman at River Falls.