Meet The Team
Mike Frohberg
Director - 653
Mike grew up in the Norfolk area and spent his summers working for his grandfather on a ranch in the Sandhills. In 1993, just after junior high, he moved with his mother and siblings to Randolph, NE, where he would graduate from Randolph Public High School in 1997 and met his wife. Mike then attended college at Northeast Community College for Welding and Metallurgy and started working for Norfolk Iron and Metal in 1998, where he would remain until 2021. He has over 20 years of experience in OSHA and DOT compliance, accident investigations, and risk assessment. Mike started as a volunteer storm spotter for Stanton County around 2002. In 2012, he became the Assistant Director to Sanford Goshorn and became more involved with assisting where he could, with traffic control, assisting the Stanton County Sheriff's Office, and learning the ins and outs of communications and electronics on county vehicles. In 2014, after the Pilger tornados, he decided to get his EMT License and became an EMT for Hoskins/Woodland Park Rescue, where he became Co-Captain and is still an active member as an EMT. In 2014 he received a letter of commendation from the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office for his response role in Pilger. In January 2020, Mike became the Interim Director after the untimely death of Sanford Goshorn. He continued to work at Norfolk Iron and Metal during the day and spent the evenings working for Stanton County, while also being on-call for emergencies during the day. During this time, he also relinquished his Co-Captain position for Woodland Park Rescue to pursue Emergency Management. It quickly became apparent that this role demanded more time to attend meetings, training during the day, and acquiring grants for Stanton County. In July of 2021, the Stanton County Board of Commissioners appointed Mike to be the Full-Time Emergency Manager. In the fall of 2021, Mike was awarded the Outstanding New Emergency Management Professional of the Year by the Nebraska Association of Emergency Management. Mike has completed the Emergency Management Basic Certification, along with multiple Incident Command System courses, and is currently working on his Advanced Emergency Management Certification. He is also in the process of working on becoming an All-Hazards Safety Officer to be deployed as part of a Type 3 Incident Management Team for the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. In 2023, he earned his Part 107 Certificate for drone operations, where he assists the sheriff’s office with accident mapping, search, and rescue, as well as assisting fire departments with fire overwatch and hazmat calls, as well as mutual aid for other jurisdictions. Due to the vast history and knowledge of safety programs and being a former Safety Coordinator, Mike was appointed as the county’s Safety Officer. This role handles all of the investigations into county employee accidents, injuries, and property damage. He also completes safety audits and inspections for the county shops. He and his wife have a son and a daughter. He loves to spend quality time with his family. His main hobbies include fishing and hunting, but he just really enjoys any downtime he may get.
Woody Pilger
Deputy Director - 6531
Woody Pilger serves as one of the Deputy Directors for Stanton County Emergency Management. He is based in Pilger, Nebraska, with responsibilities covering the areas of Stanton, Pilger, and Woodland Park. He has been in the fire service for over 30 years and is also currently serving as the Fire Chief for the Pilger Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. His main duties are storm spotting, damage assessments, and equipment maintenance.
Kirk VanPelt
Deputy Director - 6532
Kirk VanPelt also serves as a Deputy Director for Stanton County Emergency Management. He is based in Stanton, Nebraska, with responsibilities covering the areas of Stanton, Pilger, and Woodland Park. Kirk has a background in law enforcement and public health. He is currently working as a training officer for the Nebraska Safety Council. His main responsibilities are storm spotting, damage assessments, and assisting where needed.
