January 27, 2026

The Lake of The Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, January 27,2026 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Joe Grund called the meeting to order at 9:00a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Jon Waibel, Ed Arnesen, Joe Grund, and Buck Nordlof. Also present was Auditor-Treasurer Lorene Hanson. Absent: Commissioner Cody Hasbargen.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following changes: Add: Pay Equity Compliance Report Approval.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the official minutes of January 13,2026.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $12,533.88; Commissioners Warrants $835.54; Commissioners Warrants $21,335.90.

Auditor/Treasurer

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $148,637.73; Road & Bridge $27,993.15; Solid Waste $16,004.23; EDA $1,751.99.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION 

Warrants Approved On 1/27/2026 For Payment 1/30/2026 

Vendor Name Amount

Compass Minerals America 14,432.48 

Counties Providing Technology 9,035.00 

Headwaters Regional Development Commiss 3,500.00 

Information Systems Corporation 12,529.00 

LOW Soil & Water Cons. Dist. 92,242.00 

Pb Distributing Inc 4,023.50 

Pennington County Sheriff Office 16,585.59 

Rainy Lake Oil, Inc 2,524.50 

Red Lake Builders Inc 8,450.00 

Summit Fire Protection 2,486.00 

U.S. Bank Equipment Finance 6,268.50 

Wilkens Industries 3,037.44 

37 Payments less than 2000 19,273.09 

Final Total: 194,387.10

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: January 14, 2026 for $271,304.42; January 21, 2026 for $158,814.71; January 21, 2026 for $1,811.24; January 14, 2026 for $348,535.39.

Set Work Session

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to set a work session with the DNR NW Regional Director for March 24, 2026 following the regular board meeting.

Board Appointments

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to appoint Jennifer Lind Loughrey to the North Country Community Health Board & the North Country Community Health Services Advisory Committee.

Pay Equity Compliance Report Approval

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the Pay Equity Compliance Report as presented.

Human Resources

MN Paid Family Leave Policy Approval

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the MN Paid Family Leave Policy and Employee Leave Request Form as presented.

Public Works

Updates

County Engineer Anthony Pirkl gave a brief update on various projects.

Set Work Session

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously set a work session for Solid Waste on February 10, 2026 following the regular board meeting.

Department of Natural Resources

Ditch Modifications at Winter Road Lake Peatland Scientific & Natural Area (SNA)

Meredith Cornett and Torin McCormack provided a presentation on ditch modifications at winter road lake peatland scientific and natural area and discussed potential options with the board.

Adjourn

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at  10:05 a.m.

Attest: January 27, 2026

________________________________             _________________________________

Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson Chair Joe Grund