Nelson County commission assigns coroner duties to sheriff and donates old body cameras to ambulance districts

Nelson County commissioners on July 18 voted to assign county coroner responsibilities to Sheriff Kurt Schwind after the sheriff raised concerns about coroner availability.

Sheriff Kurt Schwind joined the meeting to update the board on sheriff department business and told commissioners he was concerned about how readily available the county coroner was to respond to calls. Following discussion, Commissioner Mike Haugland moved that the coroner position be replaced with the sheriff; Commissioner Steve Forde seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

At the same meeting, the commission approved donating the sheriff department’s old body cameras to Nelson County ambulance districts. Commissioner Steve Forde moved the donation; Commissioner Cameron Swenson seconded and the motion passed on a roll call vote.

Why it matters: reassigning coroner duties to the sheriff centralizes responsibilities in the sheriff’s office and may change procedures for death investigations and responses. Donating old body cameras to ambulance districts repurposes equipment for emergency medical services.

What’s next: Implementation details for the coroner reassignment and equipment transfer were not specified in the minutes and will require administrative follow-up.