March 10, 2026

The Lake of The Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 10,2026 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, Cody Hasbargen, Joe Grund, Ed Arnesen and Buck Nordlof. Also present was Auditor-Treasurer Lorene Hanson. 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following changes: Add: Legislative Update. Remove: PLSS Grant Update.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the official minutes of February 24,2026.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $6,996.76; Commissioners Warrants $1,673.45; Commissioners Warrants $34,935.54.

Auditor/Treasurer

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $94,793.52; Road & Bridge $97,863.28; Solid Waste $30,003.95; EDA $25.00.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION 

Warrants Approved On 3/10/2026 For Payment 3/13/2026 

Vendor Name Amount 

Auto Value Baudette 2,973.66 

Braun Intertec Corporation 3,062.50 

ByteSpeed, LLC 39,075.00 

Doosan Bobcat North America Inc. 64,786.17 

Esri 20,600.00 

Farmers Union Oil company 2,233.42 

Grand Trailer Sales 3,924.00 

Hoffman, Philipp & Martell, PLLC 6,100.00 

Integris LLC 2,240.07 

Interstate Engineering Inc 3,870.00 

Law Offices of Patrick D. Moren 12,014.66 

Mar-Kit Landfill 14,894.35 

Northdale Oil Inc. 14,835.39 

R & Q Trucking, Inc 6,264.00 

Sandpieper Design Inc. 4,275.00 

Ziegler, Inc 2,951.98 

40 Payments less than 2000 18,585.55 

Final Total: 222,685.75 

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: February 26, 2026 for $10,728.21; March 5, 2026 for $107,478.55.

Post Prom Donation

Motion

LOW Women of Today- Prom Donation

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to donate $200.00 out of levied funds to the post prom party.

Public Works

Updates

County Engineer Anthony Pirkl gave an update on various projects

Equipment Purchase-2021 Schulte Mower

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of a 2021 Schulte Mower from Roseau County in the amount of $23,500.00.

Equipment Purchase-Trailers

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of 4 recycling trailers and 1 cardboard trailer in the amount of $137,732.00 with a portion of it up to 95% to be paid for out of the recycling grant.

Solid Waste-Demo Rates

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the request to adjust the demo rates as follows:

Regular Demo: $20 per yard

Sort/Garbage Demo: $25 per yard

Shingles: $10 per yard

Clean Wood: $5 per yard

Attorney

Add to Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to add Tobin Fisheries Contract to the agenda.

Tobin Fisheries Contract

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously with Commissioner Buck Nordlof abstaining to approve the draft contract between Lake of the Woods County and Jim Miekel regarding the Tobin Fisheries building contingent upon the approval of Mr. Miekel’s Attorney.

2026 Attorney Contract

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve a 3% cost of living increase for County Attorney Michelle Moren in the amount of $4200.00 with a retroactive date of January 1, 2026.

Sheriff

Updates

County Sheriff Gary Fish and Tami Mauer gave an update to the board regarding the recent jail inspection and reviewed maintenance that included painting and replacement of bathroom fixtures.

Add to Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to add set work session to the agenda.

Set Work Session

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to set a work session for Maintenance on March 24,2026 following the regular board meeting.

Change Work Session Date

Motion

Motion was  made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to move the work session with the DNR that was set for March 24,2026 to April 28, 2026 following the regular board meeting.

Adjourn

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 a.m.

Attest: March 24, 2026

________________________________             _________________________________

Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson Chair Joe Grund