Landkamer named to USDA post, will leave County Board

Tim Krohn, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·3 min read

Feb. 28—MANKATO — The Biden administration named Blue Earth County Commissioner Colleen Landkamer as the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development director for Minnesota.

Landkamer will resign from her seat on the County Board in the next couple of weeks.

"It's exciting and a good opportunity to work in the Biden administration and help rural areas," Landkamer said.

This is the second time she's held the post.

Landkamer was first elected to the County Board in 1988. In 2009, she was appointed by President Obama to serve as state director of the USDA rural development department. Following her eight-year position at USDA, Landkamer was again elected to the County Board in 2019.

Landkamer's term on the board is up in November. Blue Earth County Administrator Bob Meyer said the county is still exploring state rules on replacing her but believes the board could either hold a special election or appoint someone to fill our Landkamer's term for the remainder of the year.

He said he's guessing they will probably lean toward appointing someone.

If a special election were held, it would cost money and whoever won would have to run again in November if they wanted to keep the seat.

And because this is a redistricting year, the districts for county commissioners are being redrawn before this fall's election, meaning whoever would win a special election or who is appointed by the board may or may not even live in the newly drawn district.

Landkamer lives near Minnesota State University, where she's resided for decades. Because of growth patterns around the edges of Mankato in the past 10 years, her current County Board district is now the smallest of the five, meaning it will change significantly when new district lines are drawn.

The USDA office is in St. Paul, but Landkamer said she will continue to live in Mankato and perhaps rent an apartment in St. Paul, something she did the last time she held the job.

The Rural Development agency covers a sprawling array of programs, including helping communities who need firetrucks, financing rural housing and day care, providing rural business loans and grants, expanding rural broadband, solar projects and more.

"It's a broad portfolio of things. In my last eight years we had $7 billion in projects across rural Minnesota.

"My plan is to be out on the road a lot and let people know what USDA Rural Development can help them with."

The Minnesota Farmers Union said Landkamer has highlighted the concerns of Minnesota counties at a national level.

"We welcome Colleen back to a familiar role at USDA Rural Development," MFU President Gary Wertish said in a statement. "She is a dedicated public servant who has been an effective advocate for counties and rural areas on the national stage."

Landkamer was involved in forming the National Association of Counties Rural Action Caucus in 1998. In 2006 and 2007, Landkamer served as President of the National Association of Counties. She is a past president of the Association of Minnesota Counties.