Three newly elected Pipestone County commissioners were sworn in and the board completed its annual organizational business during the Jan. 7 county organizational meeting.

The board administered the oath of office to District 1 County Commissioner Luke Johnson, District 3 County Commissioner Dallas Rosskamp and District 5 County Commissioner Chris Hollingsworth. After the oath, the board nominated and approved leadership: Hollingsworth was elected chair and Johnson was elected vice chair by unanimous voice vote.

The meeting then moved through the standard organizational items typically addressed at the start of the year. The board approved its rules of procedure (listed in the packet as Resolution 59 0 1 25), set a per-diem rate, authorized official depositories and auditors’ warrant procedures, designated official newspapers for legal publication and adopted the county’s investment policy and meeting calendar for 2025. The board also approved committee and commission appointments for the year, with the chair saying he would finalize any needed corrections after today’s meeting.

Among administrative compensation and expense items, the board voted to raise the per-diem from $100 to $125 and to adopt the IRS-following mileage reimbursement rate of $0.70 per mile for 2025. The board also approved a daily meal allowance of $50, unchanged from 2024. Those items were presented as standard annual updates and passed by unanimous voice votes.

Board members discussed and confirmed the county’s official newspapers for legal publications: the County Star as the primary and the Edgerton Enterprise as the secondary. Jill, representing the Edgerton Enterprise, attended in the meeting room for that item.

The board approved the listed committee assignments for 2025 after questions and clarifications about several memberships and alternates. County staff and commissioners made a number of minor corrections on the record (for example, replacing certain members on Southwest Minnesota Opportunity Council and updating names where people had retired); the board directed staff to finalize written lists with those corrections.

The board also approved the use of the county website and trade journals for publishing transportation project notices and bids, as presented by highway staff.

Finally, the board authorized payment for two new sheriff’s office pursuit vehicles (two 2025 Dodge Durangos) to be issued as auditors’ warrant payments so the vehicles could be taken into service. That motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

The meeting adjourned after routine final items and scheduling the next regular meeting; the board also agreed to reschedule the Feb. 25 meeting to Feb. 18 to accommodate the AMC legislative conference.

Votes at a glance: all items below were approved by unanimous voice votes unless otherwise noted. Resolution numbers and identifiers are listed as they appeared in meeting materials where available.

- Resolution 59 0 1 25 — Rules of Procedure: approved.
- Resolution 59 0 2 25 — Per-diem setting (increase from $100 to $125): approved.
- Resolution 59 0 3 25 — Auditor warrant authorization: approved.
- Resolution 59 0 4 25 — Workers’ compensation for elected officials: approved.
- Resolution 59 0 5 25 — Designated public depository (removal of Northland Securities Pershing LLC): approved.
- Resolution 59 0 6 25 — Elected officials minimum salaries (statutory minimum for county attorney and sheriff): approved.
- Resolution 59 0 7 25 — Designation of official newspapers (County Star primary, Edgerton Enterprise secondary): approved.
- Resolution 59 0 8 25 (investment policy listed as 590825 in packet): approved.
- Meeting dates and times for 2025 (regular Board and Hospital Board meeting schedule): approved.
- Mileage reimbursement rate for 2025 — $0.70 per mile: approved.
- Meal allowance for 2025 — $50 per day: approved.
- Committee and commission appointments for 2025: approved, with staff directed to finalize corrections.
- Authorization to publish transportation project notices via website/trade journals: approved.
- Purchase and payment authorization for two 2025 Dodge Durango pursuit vehicles as auditors’ warrants: approved.

Ending: The board’s annual organizational business proceeded without contested votes; staff were directed to update printed rosters and to circulate corrected committee lists and publication notices to the county’s newspapers and stakeholders.