Kelly Hendrickson, the new interim county recorder, is shown here at the counter in the recorder’s office in the courthouse.

Kelly Hendrickson hit the ground running when she was appointed as the interim county recorder by the Faribault County Board of Commissioners. Her first day on the job was Nov. 3 and she was anxious to get to work.

“Every major life event is documented in the recorder’s office,” Hendrickson said. “That is how Terri (Van Reese), who works with me here in the office, summed up what we do and I think it is a great way to explain our job.”

Hendrickson shares that births, marriages, deaths along with any other vital records can be found in the recorder’s office.

“That also includes real estate deeds and transactions,” she adds. “This is also where you can go to get your passport.”

The position of county recorder became open when Sherry Asmus submitted her resignation effective Dec. 31, 2024. Asmus had over 36 years of experience in the county recorders office. She had been the recorder since 2011 after being elected to the position in 2010.

The County Board first appointed county assessor Brady Rauenhorst to serve as an interim county recorder. Rauenhorst later submitted his resignation from the interim role, contingent on the board’s decision to convert the position to an appointed one or until a new person was appointed.

Hendrickson shares what led her to apply to serve as the interim recorder.

“I like the recorder position and knew the county had been without one for almost a year,” Hendrickson commented. “That puts a lot of stress on the people who are still left working in the office.”

Hendrickson currently lives outside of Faribault County in Albert Lea. Thus, unless she moves, she is not eligible to be elected as the county recorder for Faribault County.

“If they (County Board) decided to make it an appointed position, I would definitely be interested,” she says.

Hendrickson’s notes her background led to interest in being a recorder.

“I worked for attornies most of my life,” she comments. “It gave me good experience working with real estate, estate planning, probate and the business world.”

She served as an interim county auditor/treasurer in Freeborn County for almost two years following the retirement of former auditor/treasurer Pat Martinson. She had also served as the county recorder in Freeborn County.

“My real niché is the recorder’s position,” Hendrickson notes. “You are putting puzzles together. That is where good records come in handy. Brandee Douglas, the GIS coordinator for the county, has been very helpful to me in that regard.”

Hendrickson explains there is an active relationship between the assessor’s, recorder’s and the auditor/treasurer’s offices.

“We work with the auditor/treasurer’s office almost every day,” she comments. “The auditor’s office will process documents and then send them to our office for completion”

One of the main tasks Hendrickson shares she is currently working on is the digitizing of the county’s records.

“They are currently digitized from 1993 on,” she remarks. “I knew they were behind on digitizing all of the records when I took the job. There are funds available that don’t come out of the county budget for getting the records digitized.”

Hendrickson explains why digitizing the records is important.

“The recorder is the custodian, the keeper of the county’s records,” she states. “It is important to make sure they are preserved. If there was a fire or water damage the county could lose much of its history.”

Hendrickson mentions there are other advantages to getting the records digitized.

“It makes searching for information so much faster,

she says. “It makes things more efficient for people in the office and for those outside of the office who are looking for information.”

She does say that not everyone is happy with the answers the recorder’s office has to give them.

“People do not always understand that we can’t just change information without documentation,” Hendrickson comments. “Sometimes all that we can do is guide them to the next step they need to take. We cannot give them legal advice. In matters of real estate, we strongly encourage people to consult with an attorney so that things get done right the first time.”

Hendrickson and her husband, Stu, have three grown children. Stu is a former school teacher who has retired from that job.

When Hendrickson is not busy at the recorder’s office, she likes to spend time using her camera to photograph sporting events.

“I took sports photos at United South Central school when my husband coached there,” she shares. “I still shoot a lot of sporting events but now it is for Albert Lea.”

And, she notes, she doesn’t mind the drive to Blue Earth from Albert Lea.

“I think there are three people from Albert Lea and a couple from Alden that drive to the courthouse for their jobs,” Hendrickson comments. “Faribault County must be a good place to work.”

Hendrickson certainly thinks so.

“We are here to serve the public and Terri does a great job helping people and we look forward to when Eva (Steele) returns to work in January,” Hendrickson states. “Sometimes people come to our office and they cannot find documents which is frustrating for them. So it brings us great joy to work with them and find the answers they need.”