[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6585730,"mediaKeyId","5600223-105e35f9cf3598d7a4452bca3bfd41da","parentId",5600223,"title","Meeker County commissioners approve election boards, speed‑study request, property sale advertisement and two farm permits","audioSeconds",1266,"startMs",101000,"endMs",1367000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5600223-105e35f9cf3598d7a4452bca3bfd41da&start=101&end=1367","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5600223-105e35f9cf3598d7a4452bca3bfd41da/thumbnail_101000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6585730/Meeker-County/Minnesota/Meeker-County-commissioners-approve-election-boards-speedstudy-request-property-sale-advertisement-and-two-farm-permits","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6585730-e0b613dff9604b453bcfb1feb4fb89d4/orig.mp4?Expires=1774994947&Signature=oD1iC7XDHKtX4DF-O8anyy4kwPz~kf552S4bNFA2MotJpV1IIuxCG0jlwTW4Jbq~-GkdHwAsiTYzSrqAgJOuRroBcJf33-NlqITSRFtnETTNAvnOF10yJcvg3q0oLrsd-PRjyS2DMCXQQeUS89ByJkv9mOroRYmuWkg1BPsiPNB6hbYYgq183ehG8kinkwQucmNG5y~BrmITeWxE2fd9a85MdDPYgWGArcNrrm22U1Mz8nNfwnKxjg3iotQMWneMOrqCJvfhzuykd5s~DZhsT2BqxFyvH~4nuNZRrwnoiNwY8LUY24Tnd3glP-RyKsv5o2eZaP7qhze4F6Eg6OteEQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Meeker County","date","2025-08-19T13:03:37Z","article","Meeker County commissioners on Aug. 19 approved a series of motions and resolutions covering election procedures, a speed‑study request to MnDOT, authorization to advertise county property for sale, and two conditional‑use permits for a farm anaerobic digester and associated manure‑handling changes.

Why it matters: The votes set who will staff upcoming canvass and absentee ballot boards for 2025 elections, ask the Minnesota Department of Transportation to study a safety concern on a state highway, begin the process to sell a county transfer site, and approve land‑use permits that allow an anaerobic digester facility and a change in feedlot manure handling at Wagner Dairy.

Votes at a glance

- Consent agenda (approval of minutes, Health and Human Services payables, temporary on‑sale liquor license for the Cedar Mills Gun Club, Cedar Mills Lions off‑site gambling application, quote from Marco for switches/hardware/licensing, the 2025–27 strategic plan, and other routine items). Motion to approve carried by roll call; all commissioners voted yes.

- Appointment to canvass board for two elections (Aug. 27, 2025, and Nov. 5, 2025): Motion to appoint Commissioner Cheryl Van Oort and Commissioner Darren Somkie carried by voice vote (ayes).

- Resolution establishing the absentee ballot board for 2025 and directing the elections manager to staff a sufficient number of trained election judges and deputy staff for the 2025 elections: Motion passed by roll call; Commissioners Van Oort, Somkie, Schmidt, Oberg and Johnson voted yes.

- Resolution requesting the Minnesota Department of Transportation complete a speed study on portions of CSAH 1 (Casa 1) and CSAH 11 (Casa 11), covering roughly a three‑mile stretch referenced in the county packet: Motion passed by roll call; unanimous yes votes.

- Conditional Use Permit 16635 — construction and operation of an anaerobic digester to produce raw natural gas (Wagner Dairy): Motion to approve carried by voice vote (ayes).

- Conditional Use Permit 16636 — change to feedlot manure handling at the same site: Motion to approve carried by voice vote (ayes).

- Resolution authorizing staff to advertise for bids to convey county property at 637 01290 Third Street, Litchfield (parcel referenced as part of the county’s solid waste site / transfer station options): Motion passed by roll call; unanimous yes votes.

What commissioners said and next steps

Several items were routine and carried with little discussion. The absentee ballot board and canvass board appointments will staff the county’s work on the August 27 special election for Senate District 29 and the November 5 general election. The MnDOT speed‑study request will be forwarded to the state agency, which sets speed limits on trunk highways; county staff said results of the study must be posted once completed.

Formal records

All motions listed above were recorded in the meeting minutes and, where required, decided by roll call. Specific roll‑call results for resolutions were recorded sequentially in the meeting transcript and minutes as unanimous yes votes.

Ending

There were no failed motions recorded during the Aug. 19 meeting. Several informational presentations followed the votes, including a land‑use briefing on the biodigester permits and a departmental IT update.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","August 19, 2025, Meeker County Board of Commissioners Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Meeker County commissioners on Aug. 19 approved a series of motions and resolutions covering election procedures, a speed‑study request to MnDOT, authorization to advertise county property for sale, and two conditional‑use permits for a farm anaerobic digester and associated manure‑handling changes.","taxTitle","Meeker County, Minnesota","taxId",73314,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6585720,"Meeker County IT director outlines security upgrades, Microsoft 365 migration, immutable backups and staffing limits",1557,1386000,2943000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5600223-105e35f9cf3598d7a4452bca3bfd41da&start=1386&end=2943","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5600223-105e35f9cf3598d7a4452bca3bfd41da/thumbnail_1386000.jpg","/articles/6585720/Meeker-County/Minnesota/Meeker-County-IT-director-outlines-security-upgrades-Microsoft-365-migration-immutable-backups-and-staffing-limits","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6585720-1ad773ef73847ce4a60fc8f41c04d066/orig.mp4?Expires=1774994947&Signature=l6qQqvAEMdNIYPILw~iRZmapEElD8p1xjHQKlx5E19JNmPw35ra5JfDUjZ6riofxsH0g8brDZxU62OXAvE2RzpJayfvZxFF6UClVMiubRduUs~wpzEkIv2VMUimTG7hjGp9097UfzS8lQck~Zz00PDOG4wXf40pDuM~JnhgbJWxwFyDAvFFnQYDf0MhaFp89uhRUTalS3Sk3dSbJvEvwKncfbVowhjWnkPOSl315oROrsYGv8Vlni2jBJ59u2CmSGMe1PPkIlOEXIgx4Vwtkg0npMMnNq8lOAZP7VufiqvfOtpa4y3b0BUWdpGni3WlQKnXDCNHROGTG2hxGcU-1qg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Rob, Meeker County IT director, told the Meeker County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19 that the county’s small IT team supports roughly 260 users across county facilities and a broad set of hardware and services, and described recent security and backup upgrades and an upcoming migration to Microsoft 365 licensing.

Key points presented

- Staffing and scope: Rob said the IT department consists of three people who support roughly 260 users across the Meeker County Justice Center, government center, highway department and remote offices in Watkins, Dassel and Eden Valley. \"Between the 3 of us, we managed to support approximately 260 users,\" he said.

- Devices and services: The department supports about 300 computers (mostly laptops), more than 175 printers and scanners, roughly 115 mobile devices and 42 Meraki wireless access points. The county runs a virtual environment of about 32 virtual servers and several physical servers that store surveillance, squad and body‑cam video.

- Microsoft 365 migration: The county is converting users to Microsoft 365 licensing, which Rob said will provide always‑current Office apps, conditional access controls and advanced threat protection features. He described conditional access examples — restricting access by location, device health or time of day — and said these features will help meet BCA and IRS audit/compliance requirements.

- Backups and ransomware protection: Rob described the county’s use of Veeam for daily backups with immutable cloud copies and on‑site archives. \"We currently have a retention policy of those immutable backups of 2 years,\" he said, noting on‑site weekly, monthly and yearly archives for recovery options.

- Email and content filtering: The county uses Barracuda for inbound email filtering (about 2,300 emails blocked weekly) and Zix for scanning outgoing mail to automatically encrypt messages containing sensitive data. Rob said geofencing blocks emails originating outside the United States and Canada to reduce malicious traffic.

- Endpoint protection and active response: Meeker County uses CrowdStrike Falcon in an aggressive \"active mode\" configuration that can isolate an affected device from the network automatically. Rob said CrowdStrike can take immediate action even outside normal business hours and that the vendor notifies county IT of actions taken.

- Security training and phishing simulations: The county uses KnowBe4 to deliver monthly cybersecurity training and to send simulated phishing emails; Rob said completion rates typically run between 90–95 percent and that simulated failures trigger zusätzliche training assignments.

Questions and constraints

Commissioners asked about user counts (Rob said devices are counted as one user), whether outside participants on Teams have network access (Rob said they do not), and the security implications of AI tools included in Microsoft licensing. Rob said county staff are discussing AI guidelines and that an AI committee is working on policy questions.

Rob also said the county lacks a dedicated network security specialist and relies on outside vendors (Marco Technologies, Morris Electronics) for specialized support; commissioners noted that this is a common challenge for counties and expressed appreciation for the IT team’s work.

Ending

Rob closed by listing IT department goals: quick help‑desk response, protecting data and compliance, effective resource allocation and continuous improvement. The board acknowledged the presentation and asked staff to return with progress updates as the Microsoft 365 migration and conditional access features are implemented.","Rob, Meeker County IT director, briefed the board on the county’s IT footprint, cybersecurity tools (CrowdStrike, Barracuda, Veeam), migration to Microsoft 365 licensing, immutable cloud backups, mobile device management and the department’s three‑person staffing level.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6585724,"Commissioners approve Wagner Dairy anaerobic digester and manure‑handling change after public hearing and MPCA review",501,688000,1189000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5600223-105e35f9cf3598d7a4452bca3bfd41da&start=688&end=1189","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5600223-105e35f9cf3598d7a4452bca3bfd41da/thumbnail_688000.jpg","/articles/6585724/Meeker-County/Minnesota/Commissioners-approve-Wagner-Dairy-anaerobic-digester-and-manurehandling-change-after-public-hearing-and-MPCA-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6585724-0b920223aee174031fbaee234fc9e687/orig.mp4?Expires=1774994947&Signature=VL2LOMnzcmxzPfAm9O-IryUAY7OgjZSK~Pja~UhaYwtxd2B9zZdxQPJMLGsTRzfiinU71ExEPU8Sxpa6OFEgfbINS8zDorGnphGWpGa7sky4n4X6u2GInzl52JuCd4ql-xJvPvubwUfA4pumBFLD-vVKAtuJeXr-5-U3xosRB0Hhaw7Odxl~1NxbKvrUvHj-aXHnuniyruOQAetuVjRdlPXTS9fLp39m7YNzqPsKlLA5KjVddsxe2TQgxO5Hg~7zIYPYwvbL-QNZj7INVz9xm6j697ajaSLCXRK~SqDtcwjZAjrg0cLfouxufsM6~3gA9dVUwdBz~IJE~biw-nXMJA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Meeker County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19 approved two conditional use permits for Wagner Dairy that will allow construction and operation of an anaerobic digester and a change to on‑site manure handling.

Greg Schultz, Meeker County land use director, summarized the planning record and the public hearing. He said the digester will be located on roughly 21.9 acres of a southwest 75‑acre parcel within a two‑parcel site totaling about 155 acres and that the project has a multi‑year permit and expansion history dating to 2005. \"Manure will then move process facilities to be dispensed into site storage,\" Schultz said. He explained the digester will accept manure and certain industrial food byproducts; the digestate can be used as fertilizer and the site has storage capacity within its basins to handle digestate and process material.

Schultz said the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency completed the environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) process for the project and on Aug. 12, 2025 issued a final ruling that \"there were no potential significant environmental effects reasonably expected to occur\" and concluded an environmental impact statement was not required.

What the permits allow and key details

- Conditional Use Permit 16635: Approve construction and operation of an anaerobic digester to produce raw natural gas on property in the A‑1 Agricultural Preservation District in Forest City Township. Approved by motion; permit conditions and monitoring will be issued by planning staff.

- Conditional Use Permit 16636: Approve changes to feedlot manure handling at the same site so manure is routed through the digester and processed before on‑site storage and field application. Approved by motion.

- Site and operations: The digester project includes new infrastructure listed in the planning packet — solids separation building, hydrolysis tanks, anaerobic digester tanks, storage basins, boiler and backup generator, biogas upgrader and flare, buffer tanks, truck scale and reception area, transformer, air treatment, and analytical/distribution areas. Schultz described the facility as designed to remove impurities (hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and trace VOCs) from the raw gas prior to upgrading; \"Excess CO2 will exit through the tail gas stack of the biogas upgrader,\" he said.

- Odor and road impacts: Schultz said anaerobic digestion generally reduces odor compared with untreated liquid manure. He also said Vanguard Renewables and the applicants addressed road‑use concerns and that Vanguard had committed to road upgrades where needed, per the planning summary presented to the board. Vanguard representatives, including Steve Liberton, attended the public hearing and answered residents’ questions.

Regulatory review and public input

Schultz said the project went through the MPCA EAW process; the agency determined no environmental impact statement was necessary. The county held a public hearing with a large attendance and \"mostly inquisitive\" comments rather than organized opposition, Schultz said. Commissioners who visited a comparable facility in Wisconsin reported the site visit helped them ask technical questions and assess expected operations.

Planning and zoning context

Schultz confirmed the parcel will remain in the agricultural zoning district (A‑1) and that any tax classification questions (commercial vs. agricultural tax treatment) will be handled by the assessor and are separate from county zoning. When Commissioner Schmidt asked whether the parcel would be rezoned commercial, Schultz said, \"It'll be still still agri zone.\" Commissioners discussed prior feedlot permits and expansions in 2005 (up to 480 animal units), 2013 (499 units), 2014 (784 units), and May 2021 (maximum of 990 animal units), as recorded in the planning summary.

Board action and next steps

Two motions were made and carried during the meeting: approval of CUP 16635 (anaerobic digester) and approval of CUP 16636 (manure‑handling change). Planning staff will issue permit documents, record permit conditions, and monitor compliance. The board recorded no recorded dissent; both motions carried.

Ending

County staff noted ongoing monitoring responsibilities and follow‑up tasks including documentation, public notice of permit conditions, and infrastructure work required by the permits. Residents and commissioners will receive further information through planning staff as implementation proceeds.","The Meeker County Board of Commissioners approved two conditional use permits allowing Wagner Dairy to install an anaerobic digester and change manure handling at a farm in Forest City Township; the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an EAW determination of no significant environmental effects.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Meeker County commissioners approve election boards, speed‑study request, property sale advertisement and two farm permits

Meeker County IT director outlines security upgrades, Microsoft 365 migration, immutable backups and staffing limits

Commissioners approve Wagner Dairy anaerobic digester and manure‑handling change after public hearing and MPCA review