WILLMAR -- Kandiyohi County Commissioners and other county officials who were elected in the 2006 general election were sworn into office on Tuesday.
Court administrator Teresa Fredrickson administered the oath of office to Commissioners Harlan Madsen, Richard Falk and Dean Shuck during the board's organizational meeting. All three were re-elected to office in November.
County Auditor/Treasurer Sam Modderman, Sheriff Dan Hartog, Attorney Boyd Beccue, Recorder Julie Kalkbrenner, Surveyor Duane Bonnema, Soil and Water Conservation Supervisors Roger Rasmussen and Terry Schaefer and Coroner Dr. Lyle Munneke were also sworn in. Munneke was appointed to his position. The other officials were elected.
Madsen was elected by his peers to serve as chairman for 2007. Commissioner Richard Larson was elected vice chairman.
Madsen's minister, Dan Belgum-Blad from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Atwater, provided an opening prayer and short meditation.
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Drawing from scripture, he said the commissioners were called to "serve the people" and encouraged them to "listen carefully" and have good communication with each other and their constituents. Belgum-Blad said that by using teamwork, the gifts each commissioner brings to the job will help them "produce good things."
The commissioners also approved committee assignments for the year.
One change to those assignments included naming two new members to the Board of Adjustment to reflect an earlier decision to increase the size of the board so that every district in the county is represented.
The board previously had three members and one alternate, with three of the four appointed by Commissioner Madsen, who represents the southern half of the county.
On Tuesday, Commissioners Falk and Dennis Peterson each appointed a member to the Board of Adjustment. Because of how the terms of the members will be staggered, Larson said it would be three years before he could appoint a member to that board.
The Commissioners named the West Central Tribune as the official newspaper and the Raymond Prinsburg News as the secondary paper. Three of the commissioners, however, expressed concern about giving the Tribune the contract. They cited the cost difference between the two papers as the reason for wanting to approve the Raymond Prinsburg News.
Falk said the Tribune, which is published six days a week, covers the entire county, including Willmar, but the weekly Raymond Prinsburg paper does not.
Madsen said the county should explore using money that's currently budgeted for putting the county's legal information in the Tribune toward an improved county Web site.
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In other action the commissioners:
n Heard a report from Trisha Appeldorn, county veterans service officer, on activities during 2006.
n Approved a revised medical insurance plan for Mike Roe, a former sheriff's deputy who was injured on the job in 2005.
n Approved a request for a charitable gambling license at the Sunray Square that would benefit the "Let's Go Fishing" program.
n Elected Larson as chairman of the Kandiyohi County Community Health Board and Peterson as the vice chairman.
