No Raise for Commissioners in 2026; 4-6.5% for Attorney, Auditor/Treasurer, Engineer, Recorder, Sheriff
- Trinity Gruenberg
- 50 minutes ago
- 2 min read
by Trinity Gruenberg
The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on Tuesday, November 18.
Demolition Landfill
Chris McConn and Wade Miller from solid waste discussed a regional planning initiative for construction and demolition (C&D) landfills across nine counties, prompted by new state requirements for more protective landfill management. The project, funded by a $300,000 state grant, is exploring options to meet new rules for liners, leachate collection, and financial assurance.
The board and staff debated the feasibility of a regional C&D landfill due to high estimated costs of $10–$15 million divided among the nine counties (Clay, Becker, Otter Tail, Wadena, Todd, Grant, Douglas, Stevens and Pope), with concerns that such expenses could be unaffordable for small counties and taxpayers.
Stearns pointed out another regional group was denied funding by the MPCA and Legislature. Some counties prefer maintaining local autonomy or sending waste to North Dakota or other nearby landfills, rather than forming a costly regional facility or a special taxed district.
McConn added Ramsey and Washington have been working to rewrite the draft language for the statutes to make it more usable and affordable.
On October 20, the MPCA responded to their inquiry to use Wadena County landfill attractive for a regional landfill. The county or the regional group would have to pay for investigation to demonstrate that there’s no longer any waste on that property.
The planning process is ongoing, with staff gathering feedback on priorities like fiscal stewardship (cost control) and local autonomy. No final decisions were made; the group will continue studying options for compliance, cost, and cooperation, returning for more discussion at future meetings...
