Invitation to attend November 15 celebration to honor retiring Olmsted County commissioners

  • News
  • Nov 8, 2022

Olmsted County employees, residents, and the media are invited to attend a celebration on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, to honor four county commissioners retiring from service at the end of 2022. The event is being held at 1 p.m. on November 15 in the Board Room in the Olmsted County Government Center at 151 4th St. SE in Rochester. 

The commissioners being honored are:

  • Jim Bier, Fifth District (served on county board since 2002) 
  • Ken Brown, Second District (served on county board since 2002)
  • Matt Flynn, Fourth District (served on county board since 1997)
  • Stephanie Podulke, First District (served on county board since 2011)

All commissioners noted above will be providing brief remarks as well as:

  • Kaye Bieniek, Olmsted County Division Administrator, Physical Development division
  • Travis Gransee, Olmsted County Deputy Administrator, Health, Housing, and Human Services division
  • Heidi Welsch, Olmsted County Administrator

“I will certainly miss working with my commissioner colleagues and the inspirational staff at the county,” said Commissioner Podulke. “It has been an honor to be elected by the community and an ongoing privilege to be trusted to make decisions that are in the best interest of the present and future of Olmsted County.”

“I have enjoyed working with the people of Olmsted County and working to resolve issues,” noted Commissioner Bier. “The work of being a county commissioner is about making Olmsted County a better place.” 

“It’s been a pleasure serving as county commissioner,” stated Commissioner Flynn. “We’ve been very successful as a county and my hope for the future of our county is that it remains a great community in which to live, work, and raise a family.” 

“It’s a challenging job to balancing so many priorities and working toward compromise in difficult situations,” said Commissioner Brown. “That said, I have greatly enjoyed interacting with my colleagues, our community, and other leaders from various organizations. It has been a pleasure to work with what I consider to be the most professional, dedicated, and innovative county staff around, certainly in the state and probably in the nation.”  

Please consider joining Olmsted County staff in congratulating these commissioners and celebrating their well-earned retirement from public service.