A Minnesota sixth-grade teacher and theater educator has withdrawn from the state’s Teacher of the Year competition and is no longer employed with his school district after a right-wing outlet, Alpha News Minnesota, circulated images from his participation in a gay leather pageant, Mr. Minneapolis Eagle, in 2019.
Thomas Rosengren, who worked in the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City public school district, was one of 11 finalists for Minnesota’s Teacher of the Year award. The images show Rosengren participating in an erotically charged performance, including scenes where he appears in a cowboy hat, shirt, and jeans holding a sign, and later wearing a leather harness and jockstrap while interacting with other performers.
While suggestive, the images did not depict explicit sexual activity or nudity prohibited under Minnesota law. Shortly after the image came out, Rosengren withdrew from the 2026 Teacher of the Year competition. Superintendent Kip Lynk confirmed he is no longer employed with the district. Rosengren began working with the district in 2015 as a theater director and became a full-time sixth-grade teacher in 2021. During his tenure, he expanded the school’s theater program from 12 to more than 50 students.
