MnSCU seeks trustee applicants

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) board of trustees is seeking applicants to fill three open positions on the board.

The 15-member board oversees 32 state colleges and universities — 25 two-year community and technical colleges and seven four-year state universities. The board’s actions affect almost 390,000 students and 195,000 employees each year, with an annual budget of more than $1 billion.

The Trustee Candidate Advisory Council is seeking candidates to fill positions in the 1st and 8th congressional districts and one at-large position. Terms are six years in length.

Applications, which are due by Feb. 15, are available on the advisory council’s website. Application packets also can be requested from Sally Kidd, 651-296-9002, or via e-mail.

Kevin M. Jones has been appointed to the Minnesota Agricultural Chemical Response Compensation Board by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Jones, of St. James, is general manager of NuWay Cooperative in Trimont, where he has worked for more than 15 years. He was appointed to the board as a representative of agricultural chemical retailers.

The board was created to provide financial assistance to clean up contamination from agricultural chemicals. The program is funded through annual surcharges on pesticide and fertilizer sales and applicator and dealer licenses. It is made up of five members, including three appointed by the governor.

Applications are being accepted for a trial court bench vacancy in Ramsey County’s Second Judicial District.

The vacancy is the result of the retirement in October of District Judge Michael F. Fetsch.

Licensed Minnesota attorneys who live in the Second Judicial District are qualified to apply. Applications are available by contacting John Hultquist, 651-296-0019, via e-mail or by writing to Ronald J. Schutz, Commission on Judicial Selection, 130 State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.

All candidates must submit applications, which must be received, with letters of recommendation, by 4:30 p.m. Jan. 27.

One person has been appointed and four reappointed to the Minnesota Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board by Pawlenty.

The new appointee is Michael S. Gormley of Bricelyn. The reappointed members are Michael S. Jordan of Apple Valley, Patrick W. Lee of Two Harbors, Gary S. Pearson of Wadena and Marlys Tanner of Carlton.

Gormley has been Faribault County sheriff since 2007 and has worked in the sheriff’s office since 2006. He was appointed to the board as a representative of county sheriffs.

Jordan is director of civil rights for the city of Minneapolis and has spent more than 30 years working in government, corporate and nonprofit positions. He was reappointed to the board as a public member.

Lee is executive director of the Arrowhead EMS Association in Duluth and has 20 years of management experience in the EMS field. He was reappointed to the board as a representative of a non-metro EMS program.

Pearson is director of outstate ambulance operations and support services for North Memorial Ambulance Service, where he oversees eight ambulance regions and 17 ambulance bases. He is also an adjunct professor in the master of arts in management program at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. He was reappointed as a representative of ambulance service directors.

Tanner is the nurse manager of emergency services at St. Luke’s Hospital and Regional Trauma Center in Duluth, a position she has held since 1999. She was reappointed as a representative of registered nurses practicing in a hospital emergency department.

The board makes recommendations on improving access, delivery and effectiveness of the state’s EMS delivery system and establishes procedures for investigating, hearing and resolving complaints against EMS providers. It is made up of 19 members, 15 of them appointed by the governor.

Thomas A. Egan has been elected chair of the Dakota County Board for 2010.

Egan has been a member of the county board since 2005, representing District 3, which includes the cities of Lilydale, Mendota Heights and some parts of Eagan. He has been a practicing attorney for more than 35 years.

Commissioner Joseph A. Harris, who has served on the board since 1981, was elected vice chair for 2010.

The board also appointed chairs of three committees of the whole for 2010. Kathleen A. Gaylord will chair the community services committee; Nancy Schouweiler will chair the administration finance policy committee; and Paul J. Krause will head the physical development committee.

Allison Myhre has been named communications director for the 2010 gubernatorial campaign of Minnesota Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis..

Myhre, of Fergus Falls, previously worked for U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn.

Two people have been reappointed to the Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training Board by Pawlenty.

John A. Bolduc of Fort Ripley and Jon M. Magnuson of Alexandria were reappointed to four-year terms.

Bolduc has been Brainerd police chief since 2001 and previously worked on police forces in Mora and Maple Grove. He was reappointed to the board as its chair and a representative of municipal police chiefs.

Magnuson is a peace officer education instructor at Alexandria Technical College, a position he has held since 2000. He previously was a police officer in White Bear Lake and taught law enforcement at Normandale Community College in Bloomington. He was reappointed as a representative of former peace officers now working in peace officer education programs, and serves as the board’s vice chair.

The board establishes minimum qualifications and standards of conduct and regulates professional peace officer education and continuing education programs. It is made up of 15 members, 14 of them appointed by the governor.

Mike Opat was unanimously re-elected chair of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners at the board’s first meeting of 2010.

Opat, who represents Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, north Crystal, northwest Minneapolis, north New Hope, Osseo and Robbinsdale, has served on the county board since 1993. He has served four terms as the board’s chair, from 2001 through 2003 and in 2009.

Commissioner Mark Stenglein was unanimously re-elected as the board’s vice chair for 2010. He has been on the board since 1997.