New county attorney Kathryn Karjala-Curtis with current county attorney and future judge, Troy Timmerman.

The Faribault County Board of Commissioners appointed a new county attorney at their last meeting on Jan. 2.

Effective Jan. 15, Kathryn Karjala-Curtis will be filling the term left vacant by current county attorney Troy Timmerman. Karjala-Curtis will serve the remainder of the term vacancy through Dec. 31, 2018. If elected in November, Karjala-Curtis will begin her first full term with the county in January 2019.

Prior to this new role, Karjala-Curtis had worked as an assistant county attorney in Martin County since May 2016. There, she was responsible for handling a number of child protection matters. Additionally, Karjala-Curtis was an associate attorney for Rosengren, Kohlmeyer and Hagen Law, Office, located in Mankato. She served in this role for seven months prior to working in Martin County.

Meanwhile, Timmerman, who has served as the county attorney since January 2011, will be moving on to become the new judge for the Faribault County District Court. He will be sworn in on Friday, Jan. 19.

According to county central services director, Dawn Fellows, Timmerman will serve as a mentor to Karjala-Curtis prior to his departure.

Faribault County’s new attorney had the opportunity to cordially address the board at the meeting.

“Thank you so much for approving my hire,” Karjala-Curtis said. “I am so excited to get started.”

Other items from the meeting included.

District 2 commissioner Greg Young was appointed Greg Young was appointed as the new chairman and District 4 commissioner Tom Loveall was appointed to the vice chair position.

A motion was passed to set regular board meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 9 a.m. in the County Board room. Meanwhile, drainage meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m.

A 2018 gopher bounty was set at $2 for pocket gophers, and 50 cents for striped and grey gophers. A separate bounty for coyotes was discussed, but no action was taken on the matter.

According to public works director Mark Daly, five bridge removal and replacement projects were originally scheduled for 2018. However, work on the bridge over the Blue Earth River on County Road 21 has been re-scheduled to 2021 because federal funds will be available to support CR 21 bridge construction efforts at that time.

Dr. Aaron Johnson was appointed to a four-year term as the county medical examiner and Morris Hanson was appointed to a three-year term as a planning commissioner member.

The board authorized a motion to set per diems for lay committee members at $40 per day. Mileage reimbursement will be set at IRS guidelines.