Commissioners declare state of emergency
By Richard Johnson
Plainview News Editor
Wabasha County Commissioners on April 21 declared a state of emergency in response to damage caused by multiple tornadoes on April 17.
The declaration unlocks critical, fast-tracked resources by activating local and state emergency plans, allowing access to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Disaster Assistance Contingency Fund, according to online information. It enables rapid public assistance to repair infrastructure, allows for reassessment of damaged property for tax relief, and triggers potential low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Wabasha County Emergency Management Director Brenda Tomlinson, who requested the designation, said it was fortunate that no cities were damaged. She said the National Weather Service rated a tornado southeast of Plainview at EF2, with winds from 100 to 120 mph.
Tomlinson said a tornado north and west of Elgin was rated at EF1, with winds of nearly 100 mph, adding that the high winds caused significant damage to roads, and private and public land.
“So with that, we need an emergency declaration passed to kind of start the ball rolling for this, see if we qualify for state funding to get back to the townships, mostly,” she said.
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The Commissioners accepted the resignation of Sheriff Rodney Bartsh, who will serve through May 31. He was elected to his first term as Sheriff in 2002.
“I am certain grateful for all of the support that staff and the citizens have given us over 23 years as Sheriff of the great county of Wabasha,” Bartsh wrote in a letter to the Commissioners.
“I just want to take a moment to thank the Sheriff for his 20-plus years of service to the county and wish him a happy and healthy retirement, along with the Chief Deputy (Jim Warren). He’ll be retiring at the end of this month,” County Board chairman Mike Wobbe said. “So, some changes coming in that department. But I think we’re in good hands. We’ve got a pretty good group and we’ll move forward.”
Commissioner Cheryl Key asked about the process of appointing a new Sheriff.
“We’ve had correspondence with the County Attorney’s office, the Sheriff, and also myself looking into this,” County Administrator Michael Plante said. “The Board has the ability to appoint an individual to serve out the rest of the term for that office. This will be coming back in front of the Board at a future meeting to make a decision on that.”
Plante said he believes the County Board will make a decision in June.
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County Recorder Rachel Griebling discussed 2025 figures and what her office does on a daily basis.
Those 2025 recording totals include 3,360 drivers licenses; 4,150 documents; 573 death certificates; 463 birth certificates; 61 marriage licenses; 58 notaries; and 10 ordinations.
“I wanted you guys to see that everything has kind of gone up,” Griebling said. “Driver’s license has gone up, documents recorded has gone up, but marriages and notaries … obviously notaries expire the same. We don’t really get a whole bunch of those. January is our biggest month for those. But birth certificates have gone up quite a lot, and so have deaths, unfortunately. And right now we’re doing Winona County’s death certificates, so we are extremely busy. I think one day we printed over 300.”
“Just want to thank you for the work you do,” Plante said. “The energy down in that office is phenomenal, and I get positive citizen feedback really frequently as well. That’s not something we used to get. That’s not a shot at any past employees, whatsoever. It’s just that you provide great service and people talk about it. So thank you for the work you guys do.”
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A motion by Bob Walkes and seconded by Rick Powers passed to approve the Agenda. And a motion by Don Springer and seconded by Cheryl Key passed to approve the Consent Agenda. Walkes abstained from voting on the Consent Agenda, citing a potential conflict of interest.
The Consent Agenda includes minutes of the April 7 County Board meeting, claims, per diems, and meal vouchers.
Also:
ADMINISTRATION: Approval of a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3541 Social Services Bargaining Group.
FINANCE: Approval of a County/Club contract with the snowmobile clubs within Zumbrowatha Trails Association for the 2026-2027 season. This is an annual event. Each club produces a contract for the County.
The clubs include Zumbro Valley, Wabasha Driftskippers, Cliff & Coulee Climbers, Polar Barons, and the Four Seasons.
FINANCE: Approval of a resolution authorizing Wabasha County as the sponsoring unit of government for pass-thru of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources snowmobile funds of trails operated by clubs of the Zumbrowatha Trails-Wabasha County for the 2026-2027 season.
This action is done yearly to make Wabasha County the fiscal agent and authorize specific duties to the County Finance Director.
AUDITOR/TREASURER: Approval of a Gambling Premise Permit application for Immaculate Conception Church in Kellogg, for an event scheduled for Oct. 4.
AUDITOR/TREASURER: Approval of a Gambling Premise Permit application for the Wabasha Fire Department, subject to the approval of the State of Minnesota Gambling Control Board.
HIGHWAY: Approval of a settlement agreement of $25,000 in regard to a condemnation action.
The agreement avoids potential costs of court proceedings including payment of court costs, court determined amount of compensation, attorney fees of County and risk of other potential costs of the defendant’s attorney fees and costs.
It concludes a condemnation action from 2019. The County Highway Committee discussed the value arrived in the agreement and recommended
settling.
The full and final settle agreement is entered into by Wabasha County and the Heins Family Trust, Michael A. Heins and Gena M. Heins, co-trustees.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Authorizing IT director Kyle Jerviss to make needed purchases/changes to update the phone system.
Changes are authorized to telephone service and the purchase of related equipment, at a cost of up to $7,500, saving the County at least $10,000 over the next three years.
PLANNING/ZONING: Approval of a license to collect, transport and dispose of solid waste/recyclables/demolition material within the county, to Northstar Dumpster Service of Plainview.
SHERIFF: Approval to dispose of a 2016 Dodge Ram 1500 squad car. It will be sold through Tony Montgomery Auction. The surplus vehicle has more than 201,688 miles. It will be disposed in accordance with County policy regarding disposal of surplus property. Funds from the sale will be deposited to the Squad Replacement fund.
SHERIFF: Approval to dispose of a 2021 Dodge Durango squad car. This vehicle also will be sold through Tony Montgomery Auction.
The surplus vehicle has more than 168,626 miles. Funds from the sale will be deposited to the Squad Replacement fund.
Commissioners Reports
- Don Springer and Rick Powers met April 8 with the Olmsted County designation of the Joint County Authority as part of the Olmsted-Wabasha Lake Zumbro Joint Powers Board. Insurance was renewed through the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT).
Discussion included Lake Zumbro Park, which is on the former Fisherman’s Inn site near Oronoco.
Springer also attended a University of Extension Committee meeting. The Committee will interview candidates for the Extension Educator position.
He said two applicants were interviewed.
“Hopefully we’ll have an Educator by the (Wabasha County) Fair,” he said.
The U of M Extension Educator delivers research-based education to residents, focusing heavily on leading the local 4-H Youth Development program, according to online information.
- Bob Walkes attended a Plainview Township meeting with Michael Plante, and Planning and Zoning officials Joe Kaltenbach and Shep Austad.
Walkes said Township members were approached by representatives of NextEra Energy Resources, a battery storage developer based in Juno Beach, Fla.
“Just trying to gain some insights or concerns that the Township had,” he said. “They requested that we be there, and it was just informational. The proposal for this is, at this point, just grid stability.”
Plante said that, generally speaking, a battery storage facility is a precursor for other large-scale energy use, whether that be for solar development, data centers, or another large-scale developer.
“This has a lot of permitting in front of it,” he said. “The earliest they could start the permitting process is, my understanding, is Quarter 1 2027, with the potential of a ‘go live’ sometime in 2030-plus. So it’s a long-term plan there … I’m guessing there’s going to be some additional development that goes along with this at some point in the future. They’re just not sure of what that is now. Or they’re not disclosing it.”
“And that’s maybe something we need to look at, is a moratorium on this, before it gets too far, just to make sure that we’re protecting the county,” Springer said.
“Being realistic, we can expect a challenge on this either way,” Plante said. “When you’re talking about a $500 million project, $10 or $20,000 in attorney’s fees is just part of the cost. We’re certainly aware that we might want to do more with our zoning ordinance. Right now I don’t see it as an immediate need next month. Maybe this is something that we look at here or keep our eye on, moving forward.”
- Walkes also attended a Three Rivers Community Action meeting.
“The federal budget for 2026 has been approved; they’re just not releasing the funds,” he said. “So there’s concern with what’s going to happen. The 2027 federal budget guts a lot of the community action funding nationwide.”
Walkes said Hiawathaland Transit has changed some routes and cut others.
“A lot of that’s driven by a lack of drivers,” he said. “So they do need drivers.”
- Mike Wobbe attended a Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center board meeting. Discussion included the financial audit, bylaws, and amendments.
He also attended a Common Board meeting with the City of Wabasha and Greenfield Township. Officials with West Albany Township and the Wabasha-Kelloggg School Board also attended.
“There was some good conversation with what’s going on with the school and the townships and the city,” Wobbe said.
- Cheryl Key attended an Emergency Communications Board meeting in which discussion included the school mapping project, expected to end in June.
The Indoor Digital School Mapping Project is part of a collaborative, multi-region project in Minnesota focused on creating detailed digital Geographic Information System (GIS) maps of school buildings and grounds in order to aid emergency response.
Key said the Emergency Communications Board will not keep data related to the project. “So it needs to find a home.”
“You can give this some thought, whether it should go to the counties,” she said. “This is for all the schools that have been mapped. So, that’s going to be an upcoming conversation decision that will have to be made.”
Plante said he doesn’t believe there will be any issue with this being county data or if it was provided to the school districts.
“If they then gave a copy to us, it would retain its original designation as far as private data or secure data, whatever designation would be” he said. “So I don’t think there’s a data practices angle on that to consider. Is it more a question of who’s going to update it in the long-term?”
Key said each of the schools will receive a copy, and the County will more than likely get a copy.
“It’s going to who’s going to be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance, like if a school makes a change in room designation or adds on,” she said. “It’s just a conversation coming forth.”
Key also met with the Southeastern Minnesota Multi-County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (SEMMCHRA) board of directors, to start issuing rental assistance through the state’s new state ‘Bring It Home’ program on May 1.
And she attended a Wabasha County Treatment Court meeting in which two new participants were accepted, contingent on their sentencing to the program.
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The Wabasha County Board of Commissioners generally meet at 9 a.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month in the Old Courthouse Annex at 625 Jefferson Ave. in Wabasha. Visit www.co.wabasha.mn.us/government/board_of_commissioners/index.php for more information.
