Wonder World Preschool got some positive news on Tuesday when the Murray County Commissioners voted to add another $100,000 to a forgivable loan for the childcare center’s new building fund. In October 2024, the Murray County EDA recommended a first $100,000, with that motion being amended Tuesday to remove a contingency that included a funding goal and a sunset date. In a November EDA meeting, the EDA approved the second $100,000. All of the funds will be forgivable over a 15-year period.
With $200,000 now committed to the project and a potential $300,000 loan from the EDA, Wonder World is now within $428,000 of raising the funds needed for their new building. The $300,000 loan was approved by the EDA last month but still needs to be presented to and approved by commissioners.
Commissioners heard a report of October activities from Murray County Medical Center CEO Luke Schryvers. ER provider David Axman has resigned, and there are two interviews scheduled for his replacement. Schryvers said plans are proceeding for the replacement of the current X-Ray machine, with a 9-month design plan period. The work place violence procedure has been updated. Schryvers also reported that October patient numbers and finances have improved slightly, however, continued to remain down year-to-date. Surgeries and clinic patient visits continue at higher numbers. The cash balance is at $9.9M with a net income in October of $47,493 and year to date showing a loss of $244,000.
Commissioners approved the Murray County racetrack lighting project at a cost of $345,880. Local contractor Engelkes Electric was awarded the bid to replace the 70-yearold lighting system that caused a fire during the 2025 racing season.
Environmental Services Director Jean Christoffels received approval for the payment of $10,773.75 in budgeted water quality dollars. These were matching funds for a FY 2023 Capacity Grant for water quality projects that needed to be spent by the end of this year. A grassed waterway was installed for Mary Eisfeld, Section 5, Skandia Township.
Geronimo Power representatives provided the commissioners overviews on the proposed Plum Creek Wind Farm phases 1 and 2, and Lime Creek Wind Farm. Targeted commercial operation for the projects are 2028, 2029 and 2031 respectively. Estimated construction for the first Plum Creek project is 2026.
Senior Manager of Development Sean Lawler answered questions about a proposed data center, which would be located north of Worthington in Nobles County. Lawler said they are still working on site acquisition, adding that a full section of land will be needed to accommodate setbacks. Once common concern about data centers is the amount of water needed. Lawler addressed that by stating technology has advanced to include both air cooling and a closed loop system that has low water usage. He said they are being as transparent as possible and have active in meeting with different groups to explain how the process works.
Geronimo is working with the SRDC to produce a comprehensive report about the proposed data center. Lawler said after the center is built, it will provide 100 jobs.
During a work session after the regular meeting, commissioners and some department heads and elected officials discussed the pros and cons of hiring a county administrator versus a county coordinator. After more than an hour of discussion, the commissioners seem split 3-2, with Loy Woelber, Roger Zins and Mark Carlson more interested in hiring a coordinator, while Jackie Meier and Dennis Wellgraven would prefer an administrator. A previous discussion on the same subject had brought forth the idea of hiring an interim administrator while the board figured out what it is they need for the position. Murray County Attorney Travis Smith reiterated that idea on Tuesday, stating that the commissioners will not be able to fill that role and find someone to be a mentor unless they endeavor to find a person. The choice between an administrator and coordinator is not just a matter of semantics. According to Smith, they are statutorily different.
While listening to the commissioners debate the two positions, Murray County Sheriff Heath Landsman spoke up, stating, “Call it what you want, you need to get the right person or it won’t matter.”
He added later that Murray County, “can’t figure out how to disagree respectfully.”
Behind the whole discussion is the fact that both Deputy Administrator/ HR Director Sharon Giese and General Assistant Renee Gleason were hired just weeks before the commissioners voted to put then-Administrator Carolyn McDonald on administrative leave, where she remained until her resignation.
Giese and Gleason both said department heads and staff are helping them learn and keep up, but the workload with not much experience on the job has been a lot.
Since official motions and votes can’t be made at a work session, there was no resolution to the discussion, but even as the subject moved on, the five commissioners were not in agreement on what position or job title should be filled or when to do it.
