Michael Iver Stensrud (February 19, 1956 – August 23, 2024) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for five teams in 11 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He wrestled for Lake Mills High School, winning the unlimited heavyweight bracket in the state tournament. He played

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for the Iowa State Cyclones, also tried out for the Cyclones wrestling team, and was selected in the second round of the

1979 NFL draft The 1979 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

. After retiring from professional football, Stensrud lived in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. At his wife Laura's urging, Stensrud moved back to his hometown of

Lake Mills, Iowa Lake Mills is a city in Winnebago County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,143 at the time of the 2020 census. History Lake Mills was platted in part of the northeast quadrant of Center Township in 1869. A gristmill had been built at ...

, where he worked at a lumber yard. In 2000, Stensrud was inducted into the Iowa State Cyclones Hall of Fame. Stensrud coached the Lake Mills High football team while his son Andy played. Andy was also recruited by Iowa State University as a basketball player. During Andy's stint on the

Iowa State Cyclones football The Iowa State Cyclones football program is the intercollegiate football team at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The team is coached by Matt Campbell. The Cyclones compete in the Big 12 Conference, and are a Division I Football Bowl Subdi ...

team, he roomed with J. J. Moses. Andy Stensrud was not selected in the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

, signed with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

as a free agent, joined the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

for training camp the following season, and was signed by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in 2003. Stensrud had two other sons, Kevin and Michael. Stensrud served on the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors from 2009 to 2020. Stensrud, a Republican, was unopposed in his 2012 reelection bid, faced Gary Ludwig in the 2016 Republican Party primary and Democratic candidate Mike Huan in the subsequent general election, then defeated Huan again in 2020. Stensrud died in Lake Mills, Iowa, on August 23, 2024, at the age of 68.

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* 1956 births 2024 deaths American football defensive linemen Houston Oilers players Minnesota Vikings players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Kansas City Chiefs players Washington Redskins players Iowa State Cyclones football players Players of American football from Iowa People from Forest City, Iowa People from Lake Mills, Iowa 21st-century Iowa politicians County supervisors in Iowa 20th-century American sportsmen {{defensive-lineman-1950s-stub