Minnesota briefs: Township Day coming for 1,780 Minn. communities

Next month, one in every six Minnesotans will have an opportunity to take part in the most fundamental form of American self-governance.

March 8 is Township Day, when the 1,780 townships across the state will hold their annual meetings. Residents of the townships will meet to voice their opinions about local issues with other township residents and also vote directly on their annual tax levy.

Citizens attending annual meetings also often discuss and vote on other local issues. In addition, many of the state's townships will hold their township officer elections on Township Day.

"Township Day 2022 will put grassroots democracy on display. We encourage all residents to show up, express themselves, and weigh in on topics like their tax levy and local elections," said Jeff Krueger, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Townships. "Township Day annual meetings are your chance to participate in grassroots government."

About 915,000 Minnesotans live in townships, which are found in 86 of the state's 87 counties; Hennepin County is the only one without a township.

Townships were the original form of local government in Minnesota, established in the 1800s when Congress ordered a survey that divided the Minnesota Territory into 36-square-mile tracts of land.

JOHN REINAN

Rocori school board places superintendent on leave

At a special meeting Thursday, the Rocori school board unanimously approved placing Superintendent Brad Kelvington on paid administrative leave effective immediately.

Board Chair Jennifer Bohnsack said Kelvington agreed to be voluntarily placed on leave while Sam Court, principal of the district's John Clark Elementary, begins as acting superintendent.

In mid-February, Kelvington announced he would resign from his position at the end of the school year, saying he was pursuing other leadership opportunities. At the same meeting, Bohnsack updated the district on an independent investigation into allegations of racism in the district, which was ordered after a Cold Spring resident told the board about harassment her children, who are Black, had experienced. That mother, Andrea Robinson, filed a federal lawsuit against the district in January relating to the harassment.

Bohnsack said Thursday the latest action will "provide some continuity for a transition as we step immediately into a superintendent search." She did not say whether the action was disciplinary in nature.