Well-known Minnesota banker dies

Les Peterson, former president and owner of Farmers State Bank of Trimont, Minn., has died. He was 89..Born in Elm Creek Township, Minn., in 1926, he was an employee of Farmers State Bank of Trimont for 64 years, including as president and chairman, and co-owned the bank with his brother-in-law Darwin Anthony for 46 years. He also farmed with Anthony for more than 60 years..Peterson was very active in banking and agriculture serving on many boards and working with many associations. He was a charter member of the Upper Midwest Agricultural Credit Council in 1953..He served as chairman of the Minnesota Bankers Association and as director of the American Bankers Association. He was instrumental in the formation of the Midwest Banking Institute. While serving on an American Bankers Association task force he helped form the Ag Credit Company and the Ag Credit Mortgage Company..He received the Bruning Award for Outstanding Commitment to Agricultural Banking from the American Bankers Association in 1998 and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences in 2012..He served his community as a Chamber of Commerce member and a volunteer with the fire and ambulance departments for 26 years, as fire chief for 3 years, as mayor of Monterey, Minn., for 3 years and as mayor of Trimont, Minn., for 15 years..He had a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and served in the army as a Sergeant First Class from 1950-1952.