Russell Hoffman graduated from St. Paul High School in 1939. He served his country in the Naval Air Corps during WWII. Upon his release from active duty Russ returned to Highland and started his Highland News Leader career. Russ owned the business until 1973 when he sold the weekly newspaper.

Russ was a member of the starting five in basketball his freshman year and played varsity all four years at St. Paul High School, setting many team and school records. He attended the University of Missouri and “walked-on” to play baseball. He was starting left fielder as a sophomore and junior with a .300 batting average. His Mizzou team won back-to-back Big 6 (now the Big 12) championships—the first baseball championships at Mizzou.