Linn County commissioners voted on Nov. 24 to hire four probationary firefighters to fill vacancies across county stations.

The commissioners approved hiring Michael Newton to Station 920 pending a physical and drug screening. They also approved hiring Zach Wills to Station 920 for a six-month probationary term pending physical and drug screens, Evan McDonald to Station 910 (Mound City station) and Nick Mitchell to Station 9/10; Mitchell was noted as a county employee so no physical or drug screen was required for his probationary appointment.

The moves were made by motion, seconded and approved by voice votes. No commissioner recorded a roll-call vote in the transcript. Commissioners and emergency-management staff described the hires as part of ongoing staffing efforts and noted the county’s current firefighter headcount (11 of 15 positions filled at the time of the meeting).

The hires are conditioned on standard pre-employment checks where specified; the county recorded the approvals in open session and indicated no additional board action was required to complete the appointments.

The commission also scheduled and held related executive-session discussions earlier in the meeting on personnel matters; officials reported no formal action taken in executive session.