Supervisors honor several longtime employees during brief meeting

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY
From left to right, Al Huston (Secondary Roads, 40 years), Shelby Pennington Nyheim (Jail, 10 years) and Wendell Millizer (Jail, 20 years) are pictured with Marshall County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jarret Heil after being recognized for their milestone anniversaries during Wednesday morning’s regular meeting.

Another short meeting wrapped up in less than a half an hour for the Marshall County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday morning, but the board did get a chance to honor several long-tenured county employees for reaching major milestones — including one who has been with the Secondary Roads department for 40 years.

To start, Jail Administrator Patrick White recognized jailer Shelby Pennington Nyheim, who is also a military veteran, for hitting the 10-year mark and commented that the jail “would not run without her.” When asked if she had any further reflections to share, Nyheim joked that she felt “pretty humble” after seeing Al Huston’s 40-year award coming up after hers on the agenda.

Next up was a 10-year recognition for Natural Resource Manager Tyler Renze in the conservation department, and while Renze was not physically present, Conservation Director Emily Herring, communicating remotely, spoke highly of him despite the fact that her staff members aren’t the type of people who enjoy being in the limelight.

“Getting them to come and accept awards is kind of like pulling teeth, and that’s why they work out in the woods all day long,” she said. “We are very appreciative of Tyler’s hard work that he has done over the last 10 years. He started off as a maintenance technician, and he’s now our natural resource manager. So he’s the one that is mowing the prairies, running chainsaws in the woods and doing a lot of hard physical labor. But it is something that he truly loves and is passionate about, and he’s the type of employee that will do anything for us. And I couldn’t ask for a better natural resource manager, so I’m glad that he’s on staff.”

She encouraged anyone listening to tell Renze thank you if they see him out and about, with the caveat that he’ll probably just respond with an “Aw shucks.”

“He’s a great employee for the county, and I’m really glad that we’ve had him for 10 years,” Herring said.

The next honoree, like Nyheim, works in corrections as well, and White was happy to present Jail Supervisor Wendell Millizer with an award for 20 years of service to the county. White said Millizer and his fellow lieutenant “keep the jail running” and also noted how rare it is to last 20 years in such a difficult career. Millizer, who additionally serves as a reserve deputy for the sheriff’s office, declined to make a speech but was all smiles with members of his family on hand for the occasion.

Finally, it was time for Marshall County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt to present a 40-year service award to Al Huston, who works on a sign crew in the Secondary Roads department. Geilenfeldt joked that Huston started his employment with the county during the Reagan administration before some of his other current workers had even been born.

Huston began as a truck driver and later qualified on a motor grader and loader, and in 1991, he became what Geilenfeldt deemed the “working foreman” of the sign crew.

“A lot of people don’t realize how much we have out there for roads and miles and signs, but there’s 11,000 signs in Marshall County that he has to deal with, and the details and keeping things up to (specifications),” Geilenfeldt said. “There’s a lot of detail, and I just really appreciate Al for 40 years of detailed work (and) safe work. I was looking at his personnel file, and the thinnest part is the accident history.”

The engineer added that while he has heard rumors of Huston’s retirement, he’s welcome to stay on with the county as long as he wants. Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson commended Huston for taking on a “huge job” after the 2020 derecho as signs were mangled all over the county. In keeping with precedent, the 40-year veteran humbly declined to make a speech, and he gathered with the other two honorees present for a quick photo.

“Al, big kudos to you. You’re number one in my book,” Supervisor Steve Salasek said.

Fellow Supervisor Carol Hibbs, who attended the meeting remotely, echoed those praises for all of the employees.

“(We) really appreciate everything they’ve all done. It’s amazing work, it’s (an) amazing tenure, and it’s what makes the backbone of the county. So I just really appreciate everything they’ve all done,” she said.

Later in the meeting, the board unanimously approved the non-union floating holidays on the 2025 county business calendar for an afternoon half day on Wednesday, Dec. 24 and a full day on Friday, Dec. 26 and a mandatory training day on Feb. 17, 2025.

During the public comment period, Benson announced that 3,569 early ballots had been cast in Marshall County thus far, with the breakdown “about 50/50” between voters registered as members of the two major parties.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda as listed, including a status change for Isaiah Moore from TD2 to TD3 in the Secondary Roads department with an increase from $31.38 per hour to $31.77 per hour.

• Announced the official notice to agencies considering requesting county funding for fiscal year 2025/2026 and setting the deadline for Dec. 13, 2024 at 4:30 p.m.

• Approved a quarterly transfer of $750,000 from the Rural Services Fund to the Secondary Roads Fund.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.