Chad Israelson grew up in La Crescent, Minnesota, and began following the Minnesota Vikings at five years old. He also developed an early love of history. Chad earned a BA from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In 1995, he graduated with an MA from the University of Nebraska. For the past 25 years, he has been a history instructor at Rochester Community and Technical College in southeast Minnesota, winning Outstanding Educator twice and serving as faculty president for six years. In addition, he taught history courses for Augsburg and Winona State universities. Chad serves as political analyst for KTTC, Rochester's NBC-affiliated television station, and he was a columnist for the Rochester Post-Bulletin. In 2015, Chad co-authored The Political World of Bob Dylan. He lives in Rochester with his wife of nearly 30 years. They raised two sons together.