Becker County Board argues with each other during annual performance evaluation of County Administrator Pat Oman

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – In what should have been a straight forward annual performance evaluation of Becker County Administrator Pat Oman during Tuesday’s county board meeting quickly turned into a 60-minute public accusation filled argument between some of the commissioners on the board.

The evaluation was scheduled to be held in closed session on the board’s agenda, but, prior to the meeting being closed, Oman requested his evaluation take place in public.

The evaluation began relatively normally with Richard Vareberg, commissioner for District 4, saying many positive things about Oman’s performance and crediting him for rooting out some, quote, “bad” employees.

“I’ve watched our employee problems here all but disappear,” said Vareberg. “I’ve heard some employees say, ‘well, this place is toxic,’ and as I got to know them, they were the toxic part. And as those toxic employees left, (Oman) knew which ones they were. It took me months to figure out which ones they were, he knew right away. He has an insight. And some of them were sweet as can be, oh, they were nice, but they weren’t doing good for us.”

Barry Nelson, chair of the Becker County Board, admitted Oman has performed well in some aspects of his position, but also said he would need Oman to be more inclusive with other board members and provide documents in a more timely manner upon request.

“Obviously, Pat (Oman) has done a lot of stuff well,” said Nelson. “One of the issues he would need to improve on is the inclusion of all commissioners. I have felt excluded in many cases. I’ve felt that documents and information are not always readily available for me, or available prior to discussion.”

Erica Jepson, commissioner for District 1, said she wanted better communication from Oman and felt he wasn’t keeping her informed on certain agenda items before the county.

“As a new board member, I was told that we’d meet monthly, so that (Oman) could get to know me and what my hope is for the county,” said Jepson. “And we’ve only had one meeting thus far and that was in January. There have been a couple pretty significant things that have happened that when I questioned about it, why I wasn’t told? Or why the Board wasn’t told? It was blamed on (department heads), that it was their job to notify me of it. And I don’t believe that’s true. I think anytime something happens, it’s not up to the department heads to relay that to the board. It really should be the administration. I’ve asked for documents and I still have never received them. So I would agree that when it comes to communication that could definitely improve.”

David Meyer, commissioner for District 2, said he was put on the Becker County negotiating team as a new commissioner with the county’s public employees union and was disappointed to learn Oman made an unauthorized offer from the county board.

“We also had an unauthorized board offer made to the unions,” said Meyer. “And both of our reactions were, ‘was this in the budget?’ But that upsets me too. I don’t think it’s okay for an administrator to make an offer, or to do things that are huge like that without the explicit consent of the county board.”

Then, things began to devolve from Oman’s performance to accusations of impropriety involving members of the board.

Vareberg accused Nelson, Jepson and Meyer of violating open meeting laws.

“I’m gonna tell you, I’ve seen this from the very beginning, Barry (Nelson) coerced both you guys, broke the open meeting law, put himself in the chair,” said Vareberg. “This is what happened. And there’s been an investigation on this and (Nelson) has been telling everybody, all year, he’s got three votes, ‘I’ve got three votes to get rid of (Oman),’ Pat has been waiting to get fired.”

He continued and said Nelson colluded with the other two commissioners to make himself chair of the board.

“That was illegal,” he said. “And there’s been a lot of illegal stuff going on here and the problem is, you’ve left your fingerprints all over it. There’s a trail for you to follow and when these people get down with this investigation, there’s gonna be some answers here. To sit here, and just say things that are not true, doesn’t work. And it’s like I said, they’ve been threatening to fire this man for a year, you have Barry, and the problem is, if you are going to break the open meeting law, do it with somebody that doesn’t tell everybody.”

Vareberg also said, once his investigation is completed, everyone will be able to have the answers.

Nelson said: ” It’s getting to be an attack on myself.”

“Well, you’re the guy who’s been starting all the trouble,” said Vareberg. “You told us, you want to work with us, after you stole the chair. Barry, if you steal my motorcycle, and I see you riding it by, doesn’t make it yours. When the sheriff catches you on it, and gives it back to me, and that’s what’s going to happen, but you break the law and steal something, and it’s coming for you. And I didn’t want it to go to this. I was hoping that we’d just straighten up, and just follow the rules and have our own opinions, and just follow the rules and do the right thing for the county. But when you work against (Oman), when you complain you can’t have a meeting, but you don’t ask for one, wow. He gives me all kinds of meetings.”

Jepson added Oman himself brought up to her the fact that it would only take three votes to fire him, which was dismissed by Vareberg as a joke.

“I was told prior to me becoming a commissioner by (Oman) that he only needs three votes,” she said.

Vareberg responded: “Yeah, he made that joke all the time. It’s a joke Erica.”

Nelson added: “He made that joke all the time? It’s not a joke when it’s in this board room.”

Vareberg again responded: “Well, you know what, you do things without votes all the time. And you are breaking the law all the time, so I don’t know what you are thinking here. But, like I said, that’s all gonna come out.”

In the end, commissioners voted to take no action on Oman’s employment and plan to readdress the issue during a January meeting. 

Officials for both the Becker County Sheriff’s Office and Detroit Lakes Police Department said their departments are not participating in any investigation of the county board and they had no knowledge of any investigation taking place before Tuesday’s meeting.

To see the full video of the Oman’s evaluation, check out our station’s website.

Small-engine plane goes through the ice on Upper Red Lake on Tuesday; both pilot and passenger report no injuries

A pilot and passenger are safe after their single engine airplane broke through the ice on northern Minnesota’s Upper Red Lake Tuesday morning.  

According to the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, the two people flew from Grand Rapids and were heading to the lake to ice fish. The pilot found what was thought to be a safe landing spot, but had difficulty slowing the plane once they touched down.   

The plane slid into an area of ice that was only an inch or two thick, and the nose broke through.   

Other people fishing the area helped get the pilot and passenger to safety. The two were okay except for wet clothes from the waist down.   

The pilot has arranged for the plane to be removed.  

Story by Ryan Janke / KFGO

Hillman man killed during two-vehicle crash in Morrison County on Tuesday morning

A man was killed during a two-vehicle crash on Highway 10 in Morrison County on Tuesday morning.

On Dec. 19 at 10:12 a.m., a 2006 Chrystler Pacifica, driven by 83-year-old Paul Anthony Yetzer of Hillman, Minn., was westbound on Highway 10, near 180th Street in Pike Creek Township, when it braked suddenly and attempted to make a sharp left turn into the median crossover area.

A 1994 Mack Semi truck, driven by 62-year-old Chad Robert Winter of Fosston, was following behind the Pacifica and collided with the vehicle on the driver’s side as it turned.

Yetzer was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Winter suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the incident, but did not require medical transport.

Airbags did not deploy in either vehicle and law enforcement believes alcohol did not factor into the collision.

Protect Minnesota releases gun-related deaths report

Gun control advocacy group Protect Minnesota has released its latest gun-related death report.

In a press release, the group says to shed light on the critical issue of gun violence, it analyzed data from the Department of Health and found 569 people suffered a gun-related death in 2022.

Of the 569 deaths, 407 of them were suicides. The group says that statistic “highlights the need for extreme risk protection order legislation,” also known as the red flag law. The Minnesota Legislature passed such a law in 2023, and it goes into effect January 1st. It allows police, family members, or legal guardians to file an emergency petition to a court to take away someone’s right to own and keep firearms for up to a year. It must demonstrate the person is a clear and present danger to themselves or others. If granted, the person is required to turn over any guns within 24 hours. Critics say the law is unconstitutional as it strips gun owners of due process.

The report marked 147 gun-related homicides, eight law enforcement intervention deaths, six where the cause could not be determined, and one was considered accidental.

Protect Minnesota says the statistics “paints a sobering picture of the impact of gun violence on our communities and underscores the urgent need for comprehensive action during the upcoming 2024 legislative session.”

“Every person lost to gun violence represents a family torn apart and a community that is suffering and mourning,” said Maggiy Emery, Executive Director of Protect Minnesota.

Come 2024, Emery says the state will consider “evidence-based solutions next year, including safe firearm storage, lost and stolen firearm reporting and creation of a state Office of Violence Prevention would help end additional needless suffering from gun violence.”

See the report here.

Story by Jennifer Lewerenz / KNSI

Woman and dog found alive Monday afternoon after sub-zero wind-chill overnight in Pine County

A woman who went on a search in Pine County, in east-central Minnesota for her missing dog in sub-zero wind-chill Sunday afternoon did not return safely that evening. Both were found Monday afternoon by the sheriff’s search and rescue team.

Deputies and the woman’s family members searched throughout Sunday night. Monday morning, the search and rescue team joined the effort.

Their newly-trained human trackers discovered a signature print in the woods and kept looking for the woman over a mile-and-a-half from the initial print. A neighbor who joined the search found the woman and dog near the last print shortly before 2 p.m. Monday.

The 41-year-old woman and her dog were treated for cold exposure and reunited with their family.

The team initiated simultaneous searches on frozen Lake Alma, an air search with the Minnesota State Patrol Flight Section, and a land search.

Story by Don Haney / KFGO

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