Two people who were influential in Minnesota’s pest control industry have passed away: Philip Harein and Michael Fresvik. Harein, a longtime professor of entomology at the University of Minnesota, died on July 22 at the age of 94, while Fresvik, a former director of the Minnesota Pest Management Association, died on July 18 at the age of 78.
In addition to his work at the University of Minnesota, Harein was an author, an expert on pet storage products, and was instrumental in the planning of the Minnesota Pest Management Association’s annual conference.
Before becoming director of the Minnesota Pest Management Association, Fresvik was a supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, where he was respected not only for getting his job done but for helping the industry. Todd Leyse, president of Adams Pest Control, Medina, Minnesota, said his father, Harold Leyse, and his partner, Don Hanson, visited Fresvik in 1970 and asked how to start a pest control operation, and they received great support from Fresvik .
Sources: Star-Tribune and Honsa Family Funeral Home
