New county engineer ready to go
Fairmont native April Wellman happy to be back in Southern Minn.
April Wellman began serving as the county engineer and Public Works director for Faribault County in April, replacing Mark Daly who retired at the end of 2023.
While she is very excited to be working at her new job, she admits that becoming an engineer is not exactly what she had planned when she graduated from Fairmont High School in 2012.
“I was going to go into education,” Wellman says. “I kind of happened into my engineering career.”
Wellman was preparing to register for classes at the University of Minnesota – Duluth and was reminded by her mother that the campus had a nice, new engineering building.
“I actually had some scholarship money to attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison, but changed my mind and went to Duluth,” April comments. “While registering at UMD, I asked if I could switch my major to engineering from education and was told that I could. Then I found out everything that a civil engineering degree encompassed and decided it was the path for me.”
According to Wellman, it was a good choice.
“I always loved math, art and graphic design in high school,” she shares. “Those were all things I could tap into with a civil engineering degree.”
She notes she also happened into her first job after graduating from UMD.
“The college was hosting a job fair and I was president of the student chapter of the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers),” she says. “I was busy helping with the job fair while also passing out my resumes to companies. One of the companies liked my resume and made me a job offer.”
That company, Krech Ojard and Associates, is based in Duluth.
“They do engineering and consulting,” Wellman notes. “They provide industrial equipment support for open pit mines for crushers, screening equipment and conveyance.”
Wellman eventually did the bulk of her work for a mine in Rogers City, Michigan.
“There was a great deal of retrofitting to be done on the plant since it was originally constructed in 1920,” Wellman says. “I would usually travel to the mine once a year.”
The reason she would only have to be on site at the mine once a year is because of the use of 3D laser scanning.
“We would take a 3D laser scan of the facility along with pictures of the site,” she explains. “I could then design structures which could be retrofitted within the plant.”
It really is amazing technology and Wellman notes the ability to make use of the technology made a big difference in how she did her job.
“Without 3D scanning being available, there would have been many more trips involved to actually be on site,” Wellman says.
Counting her internship at Krech Ojard and Associates, Wellman spent close to nine years with the company.
Her getting a job as the Faribault County engineer also just kind of happened.
“It was actually my husband, Ethan, who was looking for a job,” Wellman comments. “He is the one who spotted the job opening for the highway engineer in Faribault County.”
Like his wife, Ethan had also graduated from Fairmont High School in 2012. He then went to Central Lakes College in Staples to become a heavy equipment operator.
“It was a two year program, and after graduating from Central Lakes, he got a job working for United Taconite,” Wellman says.
The United Taconite mine is located on Minnesota’s Masabi Iron Range in and around the city of Eveleth.
The couple, who were married in 2020, bought a house in Saginaw, Minnesota.
“We split the difference,” Wellman notes. “Saginaw was about half way between where I was working in Duluth and where he worked for the mining company.”
The couple have a son, Walker, who is two years old.
“Ethan became a stay-at-home dad when childcare became hard to find,” Wellman comments. “We finally did find an available daycare in Duluth and that is when he started searching for a job and found the opening for the engineer’s position in Faribault County.”
Things happened pretty fast once she applied for the job.
“It was about seven days from the time I applied until I had my interview for the job,” she says. “About 30 minutes after the interview, I had a conditional job offer.”
Being hired by Faribault County has helped the Wellmans realize one of their goals.
“We really wanted to get back to this area and live closer to our parents. Ethan’s parents and my parents only live about five miles apart,” Wellman notes. “Ethan has two siblings living in the area and they have kids, so now Walker is having a good time hanging out with his cousins.”
Wellman says the adjustment to her new position is going pretty well.
“It is a different sector of engineering, but the skills are transferable,” she comments. “Mark (Daly) has been a big help along with the District 6 and District 7 people with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. They all have been very welcoming. I also have had great support from everybody I work with in Faribault County.”
Wellman shares the toughest part of the job is the learning curve, both with the technical aspect of the job, but also working to catch up on all of the projects currently going on in the county and preparing for next year’s projects.
“But again, the way all of the people here are helping me is making the transition much easier,” she says.
While settling into her new job is certainly one of her top goals, Wellman mentions that she and her husband have another set of goals they would love to achieve.
“We both grew up in the country on farms and would really like to find an acreage to live on in Faribault County,” she shares. “The western part of the county is what we would prefer, but we would also consider a place east of Blue Earth if we could find the right place.”
With the summer months approaching, Wellman adds she is also anxious to get outdoors and enjoy the nice weather.
“My family loves to go boating and fishing and we enjoy hunting,” she says. “I would really like to have a garden and be able to can some food. Mostly, we just enjoy being outside and spending time with our families.”