The Houston County Township Officers Association Holds Annual Dinner

The Houston County Township Officers Association (HCTOA) held its 64th annual fellowship dinner on Thursday, September 25, at the Four Seasons Community Center in Caledonia.

Township officers and their guests from the county’s 17 townships, along with Sheriff Brian Swedberg, Interim Administrator Carol Lapham, Assistant County Surveyor Tammy Mauss, all five commissioners, State Representative Greg Davids, and Minnesota Association of Townships District 1 Director Rex Edge, filled the room.

President Larry Gaustad welcomed attendees. Director Mike Patterson led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by Director John Beckman, who gave the meal blessing. The meal was prepared and served by Rosie’s Catering.

President Gaustad recognized the board of directors, noting that the HCTOA board is made up of representatives from four areas of the county. The southwest quadrant includes Black Hammer, Caledonia, Spring Grove and Wilmington townships, represented by Jim Solum from Black Hammer and Mike Patterson from Spring Grove; the Southeast quadrant includes Mayville, Winnebago, Crooked Creek and Jefferson townships, represented by Gene Tessmer of Mayville and Arlyn Pohlman of Mayville townships; the Northwest quadrant includes Houston, Money Creek, Sheldon and Yucatan townships, represented by John Beckman from Houston and Randy Hongerholt from Money Creek; the Northeast quadrant includes Mound Prairie, La Crescent, Hokah, Union and Brownsville townships represented by Richard Markos from Hokah and Mark Klinski from Union. Larry Gaustad of Yucatan serves as the board member at large. 

Current officers are President Larry Gaustad, Vice President Jim Solum, and Treasurer Arlyn Pohlman. At this time, there is no secretary.

Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT) District 1 Director Rex Edge invited all to attend the upcoming annual meeting in December, and the Township Day at the Capitol in January. “The more we get there, the pull we will have with the legislators,” he said. “Legislators want to talk to you. They need to hear from us and know what our issues are.” He went on to explain the importance of talking to the urban legislators, as they do not know what a township is. 

“Townships are in charge of 55,000 miles of roads in the State of Minnesota. The legislature allocates just a little over  $700 a mile to the townships to maintain the roads. We cannot maintain a road for $700 a mile,” he said. “There probably is not something in your house that has not started out on a township road, from your food to building materials to pavement for your driveway or whatever, so it does make sense for you to look at it. Besides that, you cannot get to your lake cabin without going out on township roads.”

State Representative Greg Davids stated that he was opposed to cutting funding from local government and county programs. He also stressed the importance of educating the legislators about the important role townships play in Minnesota. thanked the townships for their work and encouraged attendees to call him at 507-951-3893 regarding any county issues. 

County Commissioner Chairperson Eric Johnson reported that the county set its preliminary budget and preliminary levy at Tuesday’s commission meeting. The levy was set at 7.905%. “It came in at 15% and we whittled it down to 7.905%, but we’re still looking for more cuts,” he said. Johnson noted that wages had the biggest increase, and the county has to pay their share of personal leave in 2026. He also said that the county board is looking into appointing the recorder position and the auditor/treasurer position, and held a public hearing to get input and answer questions from residents but no one showed up. The board has not acted on it and will probably hold another public hearing.

Civil war reenactors Jay and Allison Tolleson of La Crescent provided the evening’s entertainment. Based on the questions and comments, attendees came away with new insights into both the Civil War and the reenactor community.

Before thanking everyone for attending, President Gaustad recognized and thanked the sponsors: Bruening Rock Products, Caledonia Haulers, Freedom Auto, Good Times Restaurant & Bar, New Age Tree Service, Nodine Culvert Sales, Scott Construction, Sno-Pac Foods, VanGundy Excavating and Rosie’s Catering.