Sometimes life throws up a detour.

Three years into her first term, East Bethel City Council Member Anne Klein is resigning and leaving the city to take up full-time residence at her lake home in Pine City. The resignation is effective Dec. 31.

Klein and her husband, Mathias, are supporting three adult sons, in addition to the two daughters who live at home. The additional burden is a direct result of the slow economy: Her stepsons are recently out of the Navy and haven't been able to find employment. Her son -- unable to find a job in his field, heating and air conditioning -- now is studying law enforcement.

"We can't support two households," Klein said. "The sad part is, it's a result of the economic conditions; we had to expedite our plans to make sure we can support our family."

The decision has been a while in coming. Klein's Coon Lake home of 15 years has been on the market for a year.

It will be difficult to leave friends and colleagues in East Bethel, Klein said. But her husband already is retired, and Klein said she was drawn to Pine City.

"I love the city and I love the water," she said. "It's a simpler life, and I made the decision a year ago to simplify. I want to do good things and have fun."

Klein said she's proud of the progress the city made during her tenure, completing its 2030 comprehensive plan, expanding police coverage and working with the Metropolitan Council to bring municipal sewer to parts of East Bethel. The challenge, she said, was to maintain much of the city's rural feel, while offering amenities like roads, sewer and water and good parks to bring in both new residents and the jobs to support them.

Klein will go on as human resources director at Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming. And she'll be involved in picking a successor.

But she's looking to the future, which she hopes will include a run for a seat as a Pine County commissioner.

She's started attending county board meetings there, and is working to meet people and form connections.

"Again, talk about untapped potential," she said.

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409