Drainage and ditch-system business took a central place on the Dec. 16 Blue Earth County agenda. Mark Mannerfeld of the county’s Property and Environmental Resources office briefed the board on three separate items and requested formal actions.

First, County Ditch No.1: Mannerfeld said the watershed is roughly 2,600 acres in McPherson/Pearson Township. A draft viewers report submitted in October 2025 was signed by only one viewer, which does not meet statutory signing requirements. County counsel (Kale R. Van Rugen of Rinke Noonan) reviewed the submitted draft and found it incomplete; the Drainage Authority asked the board to resubmit the viewers report to the appointed viewers for additional work. The board authorized the resubmission.

Second, County Ditch No.47: Mannerfeld summarized multiple petitions to remove property from the public drainage system and referenced draft viewers’ and engineers’ reports for the petitions. Under Minnesota Statute 103E.805 procedures, the board set a final hearing for Jan. 20, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. in the same meeting room.

Third, Judicial Ditch 15 in Lincoln Township: staff solicited bids for installation of a sediment-trap structure as part of previously approved repairs. Sully Excavating submitted the only bid — $31,494.77 — while the engineer’s estimate was approximately $24,900. Staff recommended awarding the contract to Sully Excavating based on prior positive project experience, and the board approved the award.

The board also approved the 2026 single- and multi-year special drainage levies, with staff noting a multi-step financing approach for certain levies and ongoing work to reduce negative balances in ditch funds.