MINNESOTA [01/30/13]—St. Paul - U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) announced today that he has nominated Kira von Steinbergs of Golden Valley for admission to the U.S. Naval Academy.

If chosen for an appointment by the academy, von Steinbergs the daughter of Kurt and Jacqueline von Steinbergs, would be part of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2017 and would enter this fall.

 “I am very pleased to nominate Kira von Steinbergs to the U.S. Naval Academy,” Sen. Franken said.  “Each year, I nominate several talented young Minnesotans to our nation’s military academies because of their strong character, academic and athletic achievements, and demonstrated leadership ability.  I have no doubt that Kira has the ability to excel at U.S. Naval Academy and become a successfulfuture leader in our nation’s military.”

Von Steinbergs, currently a senior at Minnetonka High School, has served as the lead mentor of the Minnetonka U12-A girls youth ice hockey team and volunteers for Feed My Starving Children. She has also earned a 3.5 GPA.

The individual service academies make the final admission decisions and begin notifying nominees of their status in February.