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   WALKER—With the start of a new year the commissioners began the first meeting of the year with some routine annual business, Tuesday, Jan. 6.

   Cass County commissioners elected Commissioner Bob Kangas as chair and Commissioner Scott Bruns as vice chair for 2026. County Administrator Josh Stevenson presented the 2026 meeting rules of business for approval, along with a schedule for the regular meetings. The schedule remains similar to 2025 with regular meetings set to begin at 9 a.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the courthouse in Walker and at 9 a.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the land department building in Backus.

   Exceptions will be during the months of May, June, July, August and September, when the commissioner’s begin their “road show” meetings. Those will be the meetings that are held the third Tuesday of the month and will begin at 6 p.m. at city and town halls throughout the county. Locations will be announced at a later date. 

   Typically the board will have an exception with the first meeting in December being held on a Thursday due to conflict with the annual Association of Minnesota Counties meeting, but during 2026 there is no conflict. Therefore, the commissioners scheduled the first meeting of December for Tuesday, Dec. 1 beginning at 3 p.m. at the  courthouse in Walker and will precede the annual 6 p.m. Truth in Taxation public hearing on the county’s proposed 2027 budget and levy. 

Pictured Left to Right: Chairman Bob Kangas recognizes Lynzi Knowles, Resource Specialist in the Environmental Services Department, for one year of service with Cass County. Photo by Josh Stevenson

   The commissioners approved the 2026 committee appointments with moderate changes. Chair Kangas stated the Planning Commission meetings are being held on the same days as the County Extension committee meetings. Therefore, he requested someone replace Commissioner Rusty Lilyquist on the County Extension Committee as he would like to remain on that committee and felt Lilyquist would be a better fit for the Planning Commission with his realtor background. Lilyquist was in favor of this change and Commissioner Neal Gaalswyk stated he would serve on the County Extension committee. A motion to approve the 2026 committee appointments with changes was made, seconded and approved. All committee appointments are posted on the Cass County website. 

   Walker City Administrator Hope Fairchild, Walker City Mayor Jerecho Worth and Cass County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Mike Paulus presented a request to acquire land in order to develop workforce housing. The City of Walker is wishing to purchase approximately 29.32 acres of the former Ah-Gwah-Ching site located on County Highway 37. It was noted the county was retaining this land for the future build of a health care campus, however, area health care providers have made other investments. Paulus shared a survey and appraisal has been completed of the area with a fair market value coming in around $150,000. Fairchild stated this land would be used to build workforce housing, which has shown to be much needed in the area. 

   During the discussion several questions arose from the commissioners: where would the money come from for roads/sewer/water; who would be responsible for the building the houses and what if the county needs to expand it’s campus - will there be land available. Fairchild shared the City of Walker would be responsible for the infrastructure costs, while Paulus mentioned the developer for the project is Habitat for Humanity. It was also mentioned the development of this area would start out slow with only a couple dwellings being constructed at a time. Stevenson stated there would still be plenty of land for the county to build a campus with ample parking if needed. Gaalswyk motioned to authorize the sale, with Bruns seconding the motion. The motion passed with a four to one vote with Lilyquist voting nay due to feeling the board should be cautious about selling the land and not because he’s opposed to the project.

   In other business, the county board: 

   • Recognized Lynzi Knowles, Resource Specialist in the Environmental Services Department, for one year of service with Cass County.

   • Approved the Association of Minnesota Counties appointments and voting delegates for 2026.

   • Approved Pine Cone Press-Citizen as having the low bid to serve as the county’s legal notice publication for most notices in 2026, with the Pilot Independent winning the bid for second publication of the financial statement.

   • Approved candidate Steve Borrows for the 2026 Sourcewell Board of Directors election.

   • Approved the 2026-2028 Local No. 320 Jail Labor Contract with a 3% cost-of-living adjustment, 3% increases, addition of Step 11 to the Salary Grade table and lowered longevity to five years of service.

   •Approved the Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy which states when and where an employee can and cannot use AI.

   • Authorized Cass County Health, Human & Veterans Services to apply for an Overdose Fatality Review Team Development and Implementation Grant through the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for a maximum of $20,000 for establishing a Cass County Overdose Fatality Review Team.

   • Authorized the use of MCIT insurance proceeds in the amount of $185,147.99 to clean, rewire and cover miscellaneous expenses incurred due to the October 30, 2025, transfer station fire in Pine River.

   • Authorized the use of private settlement funds from Waste Partners in the amount of $17,080 to repair damage incurred at the Pillager Maintenance Shop and reimburse the Highway Department for temporary repair costs.

   • Approved a resolution supporting Cass County Highway Department to apply for the 2030 Surface Transportation Block Grant Program to resurface County State Aid Highway 13 (Onigum Road) on the south side of Leech Lake.

   The next meetings are as follows: joint meeting with The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 at Cedar Lakes Casino & Hotel, 6268 Upper Cass Frontage Rd NW, Cass Lake and commissioner’s board meeting, 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 at the Land Department meeting room in Backus. 

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