Congratulations to 2025 Mound Citizen of the Year, Todd Crandall!
At their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, the City Council recognized Todd Crandall as the 2025 Mound Citizen of the Year.
Mr. Crandall had several nominations which touched on the following:
- His welcome, kind and friendly attitude and the way he, “wears his pride of Mound on his sleeve”
- The way you can count on a “Hi, how ya doing today” when he greets you at Jubilee
- And finally, Todd’s willingness to be the trusted safe driver and sober cab for residents as they go for drinks or even out to lunch.
Terri Crandall, Todd's wife, wrote a short biography about him:
Todd Crandall did not grow up in Mound, he married into this town 40 years ago and chose to make this community his home. If you have ever met Todd, you would know he loves his family, this community and Minnesota sports. Just ask him, he will tell you all about his grandkids, how great it is to live here, and all about the game last night. He will also tell you life is hard; we all will fight tough battles that no one is immune.
Todd will tell you; we do not succeed without some failures. Even greatest players in sports will miss the game winning shot, throw a pick six or get called out stealing home. Todd is incredibly open about the struggles he has had in life—Not having enough food to eat, living in his car for a time, and struggling with alcoholism. Todd has lived through and endured the hard stuff life can throw at you. Being sober now for over 21 years, Todd also knows how great life can be when you think of others, help your neighbors, and give back to your community. People ask why we go through tough times; it is easy to see why Todd went through all he did, it was to become who he is now. Someone who is non-judgmental, who always has a smile with a kind word for everyone, and who will give a job to anyone one who will work hard and wants a second chance.
Todd will tell you; he is very humbled and grateful for this honor. He says he doesn't think he deserves it and that others have done far more for this town. We have great firefighters and people who have started food shelves and community gardens. It is true, he is not a fire fighter saving lives, he did however create a one-man company called Catch a Ride offering a safe ride home on the weekends when a little too much fun had been had. People ask why do you give up all your weekends doing this job and the answer is simple, as a recovering alcoholic he knows how important it is for his customers and the community that no one drives after drinking. In his younger days, he had always had a safe ride and wanted that safeguard for others. We will never know the lives he might have changed or even saved. It is also true that he has not opened a food shelf, but he has worked over 18 years at our hometown family-owned grocery store, Jubilee Foods. Here he has hired and trained many of our fellow neighbors. Even in the crowded store, Todd has a way of making you feel seen and heard. While he talks a lot, he also listens and genuinely cares. His heart goes out to the generation before his and he will go out of his way to make sure their experience at the store is enjoyable. Someone once said that Todd singing happy birthday to him at the store was the only birthday greeting he got that day. It’s the small acts of kindness Todd does every day that makes a community great.
Todd’s Dad once told his wife Terri, who married Todd 38 years ago at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, that Todd always takes the hardest road. That is true, the path Todd took was difficult, yet it made him stronger and kinder. His life is an example that life is truly a marathon, that if you fumble, miss a free throw or even strike out there is always another game with hope for that walk off home-run. Just ask Todd, he'll tell you!
From the City Council and the residents of Mound, a hearty congratulations to Mr. Crandall!
