Roger Wiltz, a Chicago native, graduated from SDSU in 1964.  He spent his entire career as a forty-year SD educator. He has always been a passionate hunter-fisherman.

During the summer of 1971, he headed to Burke, S.D., where he would be their new high school principal.  He frequently liked to fish in the early mornings before school, and on one of those mornings he caught a large bass that he brought into a grocery store for weighing.

Preis Fahrenbacher, editor/publisher of The Burke Gazette, heard about the fish and asked Roger to write a short piece on how he caught the fish. The story was well-received, and Fahrenbacher then asked Roger if he would be willing to pen a weekly outdoor column.  Soon other papers were asking for the column, and Rog’s Rod & Nimrod column was born.

After almost fifty years, 2,500 columns, numerous magazine articles, and three books, Roger continues to write the column.  Roger and Betsy have been married for 55+ years and have three daughters and six grandchildren. Hunting and fishing have brought Roger and Betsy to far corners of the world.