Mayville Normal Effect

In my research I have discovered that there are an inordinate number of politicians from the first half of the 20th century that attended Mayville Normal School (now Mayville State University) Four Governors: Hanna, Frazier, Nestos and Usher Burdick were all school contemporaries. It would be interesting to research furthur to find out what was happening in higher education in this little praire town at this time to cause this group to go the direction they did.
Someone might easily label it some kind of conspiracy of wealth and power and too conincidental to be accidental. Power begets power...or something like that. The real answer may be much more interesting.