Stearns County returned to in-person meetings in 2021 but they are now considering returning to remote meetings.  Stearns County Commissioner Joe Perske says they are looking at COVID-19 case counts and community spread closely and that information will help determine if they return to video conferencing meetings or to stay in-person.

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Stearns County elected board chairs and vice chairs at their meeting Tuesday.  Perske says in Stearns County each of the 5 commissioners take a turn in these roles.  He says the role includes additional paper work and spokesperson responsibilities.  District 3 Commissioner Steve Notch takes over for Tarryl Clark as Chair. District 1 Commissioner Jeff Mergen replaces Notch as Vice Chair.  Read more on this here.

Perske says the county is excited about the announcement last month that Stearns County has received $575,000 in grant dollars from the state/federal government to use toward human trafficking.  He says this money will be used to further the success in combatting human trafficking crimes in the county.  Perske says Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall and Waite Park Police Chief Dave Bentrud have spearheaded the human trafficking enforcement efforts.

If you'd like to learn more about the grant dollars click here.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Stearns County Commissioner Joe Perske it is available below.

 

 

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