County Board Chair Knutson ready to hang up his hat

Three McLeod County commissioners’ terms will expire at the end of the year, but one of them is calling it quits after then.

Grant Knutson, who represents District 3 (Lynn, Collins, Round Grove and Penn townships, Stewart and the southwest quarter of Hutchinson), announced his decision not to run again at Tuesday night’s (June 24) County Board meeting in Lester Prairie.

Knutson was first elected to the County Board in 1984, and has served as a commissioner for 20 of the past 24 years. Knutson wants to encourage younger people to get involved in public affairs. “That’s what we need,” he said.

“I like to think that I still think young,” Knutson said, but he realized age is catching up with him at a recent 60th anniversary high school class reunion. While earlier class reunions found him partying past midnight, he said he got home from the last one at “quarter-to-nine.”

“That’s why I’m quitting,” he joked. “I was an old man when I first got elected, so that tells you something.”

Commissioners Ray Bayerl and Bev Wangerin also face term expirations this year. Bayerl’s seat is District 1 (Bergen, Hale and Winsted townships, Lester Prairie, Silver Lake and Winsted.) Wangerin’s is District 5 (Acoma and Hutchinson townships, and most of the city of Hutchinson included in those townships.)

For more on this story, see the Leader’s June 26 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)