Latest news with #MowerCountyBoardofCommissioners
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
County honors Harren Gjersvik, say goodbye
Apr. 22—In the recognition and awards portion of Tuesday morning's Mower County Board of Commissioners meeting, the board and several Mower County staff members honored County Administrator Trish Harren Gjersvik for over six years of service. Harren Gjersvik announced earlier this month that she was stepping down to take the City Administrator position with the City of Crosby, which is near Brainerd. The presentation, which was oftentimes emotional, featured several from the county who spoke directly to the impact Harren Gjersvik has had on their own time with the county. "When I started here, It was a leap of faith because I came from a county where I had an amazing administrator," said Kris Kohn, the head of Human Resources. "I really found a mentor and a teammate and someone who believes in my abilities." That support was a common theme across the board for many of those who spoke including Board Chair Polly Glynn, who lauded Harren Gjersvik for her dedication to the county and what she was leaving behind. "We are saying goodbye and allowing her to phase into retirement while being closer to her family," Glynn read from a statement. "Trish, you've left your tracks and you certainly paved the way. You will be missed, but never forgotten." At the same time, Harren Gjersvik has been recognized for her time collaborating with the City of Austin, something that was noted by Austin Police Chief David McKichan. "Everybody on the city side has said great things. She's been a great collaborative partner," McKichan said. "From the city perspective, she's just been a great person to work with and I think the city and county are much stronger for you being here." For her part, Harren Gjersvik expressed the joy she's had working in role as the first county administrator for Mower County after the transition from county coordinator. While she nearly left once before, this time she said everything was in the palace to make the move smooth. "I thought I was ready. The county was ready," Harren Gjersvik said. "Neither the county nor myself was ready and today we're in a very different place. There are so many great leaders I'm actually not needed. But more than helping guide the county to a stronger base, Harren Gjersvik said her favorite part was finding success with the employees of the county, something she did Tuesday morning when she announced that Kohn was this year's Leader of the Year for Mower County. "My favorite aspect of my job really is celebrating others," Harren Gjersvik said. "Kris is not just a leader, but a pillar of strength for everyone." Harren Gjersvik's last day with the county is Friday and then she will start her job with Crosby on April 28. Look for a feature on Harren Gjersvik looking back on her time with the county later this week.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Health and Human Services lose money due to Federal cuts
Apr. 8—During its meeting Tuesday morning, Mower County Board of Commissioners heard from Mower County Health and Human Services a report about the end of COVID pandemic funding from the Federal government. According to Pam Kellogg, the county lost $142,966 in remaining funds after the Federal government in March rescinding available money related to the COVID funding. However, the county's impact was less than some counties as Health and Human Services had been forward thinking in its spending of money, which was to total $776,000. It did impact the department's immunization drive as well as some positions funded by the money, but Kellogg said they were able to find alternative money streams to continue with those areas. The Minnesota Department of Health was also affected by cut Federal funding and experienced a loss of $220 million, resulting in the laying off of 170 positions with more alerted that their jobs were in jeopardy. Kellogg said that the county shouldn't be impacted too much by the cuts to MDH other than slower response times for requests of data and information.
