New city administrator Dawn Collins, pictured above in her office, has been hard at work since she started her job in late July. She has already found several ways to participate in the Blue Earth community, from joining Kiwanis and the Eagles Club to attending community events.

For new Blue Earth city administrator Dawn Collins, serving as a member of city government is her way of giving back to the community.

“Your local government is the most important way to make your voice heard,” Collins explains. “Everything that happens in your town – it all starts here, and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Collins has a long history working in city government, though she didn’t start in Minnesota. Rather, her story begins in the small Wisconsin town of De Pere.

“I was born and raised in De Pere, and graduated from high school there,” Collins shares. “That’s also where I met my husband Greg, to whom I’ve been married for over 30 years.”

Collins also didn’t start her working life in city government; rather, she started in business, running a printer repair shop in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin with her husband for several years.

“We started our business in 1996, selling HP printers and other printing products,” Collins recalls. “That job taught me that I had a knack for printer repair, so we started offering repair services as well. We ran that business together until we sold it in 2007, and it’s still in operation today.”

It was during Collins’ time working at the printer shop that she started learning more about city government. She became friends with the municipal clerk of Ashwaubenon, and got to know the mayor as well. After the clerk retired, Collins decided that she would run for the position of municipal clerk in the next election.

“As municipal clerk was an elected position, I ran in the election in 2007, and much to my surprise I won,” Collins shares. “I became a certified municipal clerk in 2009, and I served for a total of seven years in that position.”

Collins and her husband moved to Appleton in 2014, and while she continued serving in city government, she also learned that she preferred life in a smaller town. This might be why, during a three-year hiatus from city government, she discovered the city of Blue Earth while traveling for work.

“Both of my kids live in the Midwest, with my eldest son Michael living in Roseville, Minnesota and my youngest son Jeffrey living in Freedom, Wisconsin,” Collins explains. “Blue Earth was one of many small towns that we passed through during that time, and my husband and I really fell in love with the community here.”

At the end of that hiatus, Collins and her husband made the decision to move further west, and made the move to the town of Palmer Lake, Colorado in 2020. There, Collins continued her work in city government, and learned a lot about how to repair and rebuild a government from the ground up.

“My time in Palmer Lake taught me that if you don’t have qualified government officials, they only know what they’ve been told,” Collins comments. “That’s why it’s so important to have concrete rules and regulations in place, so that everyone knows exactly how to approach a given problem.”

After spending a few years in Palmer Lake, Collins and her husband decided that they were ready to move back to the Midwest, in order to be closer to their family. Fortunately for Collins, the city administrator position had just opened in Blue Earth, and she took that as a sign that it was time to move.

“We enjoyed our time in Palmer Lake, but my husband and I were confident that we wanted to move back to the Midwest,” Collins explains. “Seeing that city administrator position in Blue Earth open up was perfect timing for us.”

Collins has been serving as the city administrator in Blue Earth for a little over a month, but she and her husband have already found several ways to integrate themselves into the Blue Earth community. Collins has already joined both Kiwanis and the Eagles Club, and has been in attendance at many of the community events over the summer.

“I really enjoy getting involved in my local community, and one of the best ways for me to do that is to participate in community events,” Collins shares. “I arrived too late to attend Giant Days, but I’ve been to several other events, including the Faribault County Fair and National Night Out.”

On the governmental side, Collins has nothing but praise for her fellow city employees, and is immensely appreciative of the warm welcome she has received from the members of the City Council.

“I came into office at a time with a lot of changes, and I have to give credit to Echo and the rest of the city staff for helping me get acclimated,” Collins remarks. “My fellow council members have been very accepting and inquisitive, and while it’s been a bit of a balancing act between the old and the new, I think I’m settling in very well.”

September is a busy time for the City Council, and while Collins acknowledges that she still has a lot to learn, she is more than ready to help the City Council streamline government processes and improve their efficiency. She is also very interested in learning how the budget-making process works here in Blue Earth, and seeks to help create a healthy budget for the coming year.

“Overall, I’m excited to help the numerous city services Blue Earth has to continue to run smoothly,” Collins shares. “Blue Earth is lucky to have so many amazing amenities available for its citizens to use, and serving in city government is my way of giving back to my community.”