By Aberdeen Insider - May 21, 2026 in BROWN COUNTY
MAY 12, 2026
GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
Meeting called to order by Chairman Sutton at 8:45 A.M. in the Commission Chambers, Courthouse Annex, Brown County, SD. Present were Commissioners Dennert, Dinger, Gage, Sutton and Wiese. Commissioner Wiese led the Pledge of Allegiance.
MOMENT OF SILENCE: A Moment of Silence was held in remembrance of Penny Hart; she worked in the State’s Attorney’s for 43 years.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve the agenda. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Jamie Lickfelt stated that the family of Penny Hart had asked him to shoot off Fireworks after Penny’s Prayer Service. He was informed that since it was not on the agenda, the Commission could not make a motion at this time, but to reach out to Scott Meints, Emergency Management Director, for guidance.
QUOTE FOR FLOORING: Randy Zens, Assistant Building Superintendent, presented two quotes to replace the flooring on the 2nd floor of the Courthouse plus the stair treads. He received quotes from Montgomery’s in the amount of $8,536.16 and Interior Design Concepts in the amount of $12,395.96. Randy recommended accepting the quote from Montgomery’s. Moved by Commissioner Dinger to approve and accept the quote from Montgomery’s in the amount of $8,536.16 to replace the flooring on the 2nd floor and the stair treads, seconded by Wiese. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
APPLICATION FOR OCCUPANCY: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve the following applications submitted by Northwestern Energy for occupancy of Brown County Highway 19, Section 29-T123N-R63W, Brown County, SD and 125, Section 29-T123N-R63W, Brown County, SD to move above ground infrastructure underground – natural gas pipe. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT UPDATE: Commissioner Dinger shared a question on the Richmond Dam detour. Dirk Rogers, Highway Superintendent, shared that they are going to be blotting 4 miles, but they are asking for 2 more miles along with stop signs on 126th. Dirk explained that they also have the detour for the Sand Lake Bridge and need to do some work on 18 in the Houghton area so County can only do so much. The State hasn’t issued the permit to pump the water out of Richmond Lake yet.
CONTRACTUAL WEED & PEST GRANT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Contractual Weed & Pest Grant for maximum of $7,200 from July 1, 2026 to May 20, 2027. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
FIREWORKS PERMIT FOR RICHMOND LAKE ASSOCIATION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Gage to approve and authorize Chairman Sutton to sign the Fireworks Permit for Richmond Lake Association to be held on July 3, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried. Chairman Sutton shared the display will be by the Oasis not the Edwards Preserve this year since no boats will be able to be on the water.
NE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT (NECOG) BY-LAWS & APPOINT REPRESENTATIVE: Chairman Sutton informed the Commission that he was on the Zoom Meeting with NECOG to discuss the new By-Laws and they are reducing the number of Representatives to go from 3 to 1 for Brown County and other entities. Chairman Sutton volunteered to be the Representative for Brown County. NECOG is hoping to increase attendance and participation in their meetings. Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to appoint Commissioner Sutton as the Brown County Representative on the NECOG Board. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Dinger to approve the General Meeting Minutes of May 5, 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
CLAIMS: Moved by Commissioner Gage, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Claims: Insurance: SD Public Assurance Alliance $184.30. Professional Fees: Aberdeen ED $66.74; Aberdeen Imaging $90.79; Aberdeen OB/GYN $70.83; Acute Care Aberdeen $362.68; AMG Cardiovascular Aberdeen $7.56; Avera Aberdeen Family Physicians $115.84; Avera Medical Group Radiology $62.85; Bernel Lee $43.00; Carrels & Bain Family Dental Care, LLC $786.71; CenturyLink-Lumen $244.31; CGI, LLC $2,512.50; Cogley Law Office, Prof LLC $2,062.60; Election Systems & Software $1,331.50; Jerry Lehrkamp $43.00; John Noyes – Bantz, Gosch & Cremer $3,212.20; Kuck Law Office $1,386.00; Lenling Law Office, Prof. LLC $1,098.00; Lucy Lewno $192.00; Mark Katterhagen $20.00; Modern Day Health Care Prof LLC $1,323.37; North Star Solutions, LLC $1,848.00; Northeastern Mental Health Center $75.00; Sanford Health Occupational Medicine $432.00; Sanford Health $1,269.10; Schneider Geospatial, LLC $3,237.60; SDJPS $400.00; SHI International Corp $30,858.11; Taliaferro Law Firm, PC $4,986.50; Tammy Stolle Court Reporting $29.10; Valerie Larson $20.00; Womens Health MFM PBB $60.52; Yankton County Treasurer $516.15. Publishing: Groton Daily Independent $155.80; Hub City Radio $350.00; KJRV FM/KOKK AM/KIJV AM $1,545.00; McQuillen Creative Group, Inc $2,329.10. Rentals: Eugene A Mitchell $50.00; Hart Angus Farms $1,500.00. Repairs & Maintenance: Aberdeen Asphalt, Inc $490.00; Crawford M S & F Inc $450.00; Dennis Hahnemann $1,079.92; Don Schlosser $350.00; House of Glass $13,702.05; Lawson Products, Inc $24.85; Olson’s Pest Technicians $260.00; Pantorium Cleaners Inc $32.00; Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $1,111.95; Precision Kiosk Technologies $3,000.00; Safety Service $600.00; Schwan Welding $674.00; Superior Jetting, Inc $4,915.00; Valvoline Inc. $18.07; Vosika Fencing $1,449.91. Supplies & Materials: Amazon Capital Services, Inc $461.38; Auto Zone, Inc $24.73; Bob Barker Company Inc $419.33; Brown County Fair Foundation $6,182.93; Cartney Bearing $47.98; Central Network Retail Group LLC $5.34; Century Business Products $401.80; Charm-Tex, Inc $837.84; Crawford M S & F Inc $105.04; Dave Lunzman $21.22; Election Systems & Software $422.36; Fastenal Company $1,165.85; Great Western Tire $851.60; GT Brothers LLC $400.00; Hillyard Sioux Falls $48.92; House of Glass $86.85; John Noyes – Bantz, Gosch, & Cremer $68.98; Kuck Law Office $29.22; L. G. Everist, Inc $2,605.05; Lawson Products, Inc $273.77; Leidholdt Tool Sales, LLC $36.64; Lucy Lewno $6.74; Menards $310.90; Midstates Group $185.00; Performance Oil $622.04; Pierson Ford Lincoln, Inc $405.95; ProLine, Inc. – Watertown $334.20; Rinse & Go Car Wash $11.50; Runnings $145.95; Safety Service $395.99; Sander’s Sew-N-Vac $9.75; Schwan Welding $44.30; Valvoline Inc. $106.99. Travel & Conference: Allison Tunheim $340.55; CGI, LLC $35.51; Jason Erickson $164.00; Jessica Johnson $110.00; Kristin Barstad $164.00; Lenling Law Office, Prof. LLC $40.00; Lexipol, LLC $1,753.92; Michael Wiese $721.15; Neil Bittner $19.00; Scott Kolb $19.00. Utilities: AT&T Mobility $184.89; CenturyLink $296.42; Northwestern Energy $11,626.32. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
HR REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Dinger, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Human Resource Report submitted by Human Resources Director, Allison Tunheim:
- Retirement of Judy Dosch as Brown County Building Maintenance Superintendent, FT; effective June 19, 2026. Request to fill.
- Hiring of Cully Conn as Brown County Jail Cook, FT; starting wage $17.49/hr. – effective May 8, 2026.
- Hiring PT (as needed) Bartenders at $10.00/hr. + tips. Bartenders filling is as Leads will be at $12.00/hr. + tips; effective June 1, 2026.
- Hope Wilkinson
- Shannon Northrop
All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
LANDFILL TONNAGE REPORT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to acknowledge the Landfill Tonnage Report for April 2026. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
TRAVEL REQUESTS: Moved by Commissioner Dennert, seconded by Wiese to approve the following Travel Request: Aaron Walberg & Jesse Milbrandt, Veteran’s Service Office to attend the SDDVA 2026 Annual Benefits School. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS: None
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to go into Executive Session per SDCL 1-25-2 for Contracts. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Chairman Sutton declared the Executive Session closed with No Action taken.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Commissioner Wiese, seconded by Dennert to adjourn the Brown County Commission at 10:21 A.M. All members present voting aye. Motion carried.
Lynn Heupel, Brown County Auditor
Published once on May 21, 2026, at the total approximate cost of $88.92 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com