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Koochiching County elects Roche chair, approves $4.75M in December payments and several contracts
Summary
At its Jan. 6 meeting, the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners unanimously elected Commissioner Ricky Roche chair and Commissioner Dale Erickson vice chair and approved multiple routine financial and administrative items, including $4,752,917.40 in December payments and first-half 2026 appropriations to local organizations.
The Koochiching County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 6 elected Commissioner Ricky Roche as board chair and Commissioner Dale Erickson as vice chair and then approved a slate of routine financial and administrative actions.
The leadership votes were conducted by the clerk to the board and recorded as unanimous among the four members present. Immediately after the election, the board approved its meeting agenda without changes.
Why it matters: The board’s actions set administrative leadership for 2026 and authorized the county’s near-term spending across operations, public services and contracts. Several items approved on the consent-style agenda allocate funds to local libraries, fairs, historical and public-service organizations and authorize agreements that enable county operations.
Major actions and votes at the meeting included: 1) ratification of year-end claims; 2) approval of a December summarized payment listing totaling $4,752,917.40 and December payroll/ACH payments of $1,594,477.04; 3) authorization of first-half 2026 budget appropriations to local organizations; 4) adoption of a resolution setting minimum salaries for certain elected officials; and 5) approval of multiple contracts, licenses and plan updates.
The board ratified 2025 year-end claims for the courthouse ($249,271.71) and highway ($112,000.63). Commissioners then approved the December summarized payment listing of $4,752,917.40 and payroll/ACH payments of $1,594,477.04 by unanimous vote.
The board also approved voiding four warrants (totaling $100,320.70), set the county’s 2026 standard mileage reimbursement at 72.5 cents per mile, and authorized recording an annual employee dishonesty and faithful performance bond in the amount of $50,000 covering specified county officials as required by Minnesota statute.
In personnel-related action, the board adopted a resolution—citing Minn. Stat. §§ 384.151; 385.373; 386.015; 387.20; and 388.18—establishing minimum salaries for elected officials for the next term: Auditor/Treasurer $91,781; Recorder $78,565; Sheriff $106,332; and County Attorney $120,998. The resolution language and statutory citations were presented and adopted.
On capital and contract items, commissioners approved a State Airport Fund grant agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Agreement No. 1059563) and authorized signing officers to execute the agreement and amendments on the county’s behalf. The board approved jury room remodel change orders totaling $10,317.45, noting the State Court System will reimburse $4,606.45. The board also awarded the county’s legal publication bid to the Rainy Lake Gazette (continuing publication in the Bear Country Chronicles) and approved a 2026 Emergency Management contract with Willi Kostiuk for $32,400.
Licenses approved included liquor and tobacco licensing for D&B LLC d/b/a 'R' Store Inc., 3251 Hwy 71, Littlefork (off-sale/tobacco). The board approved a revised Koochiching Cyber Disruption Response Plan and instructed staff to update the plan’s staff contact section.
Public comment: Board Chair Roche solicited public comment; none was offered.
The meeting concluded with a unanimous motion to adjourn at 10:24 a.m.
Votes at a glance: All recorded motions in the minutes list Commissioners Sjoblom, Roche, McIntyre and Erickson as voting yes on each motion; Commissioner Hell was recorded as absent for the meeting.
