Q: I am from North Mankato and have an absentee ballot. When I looked at my ballot there are two Soil and Conservation Districts listed.
Are we in both District 2 and District 5?
What is a Soil and Conservation District anyways?
Thanks for your help.
A: First off, it’s actually Soil and WATER Conservation Districts. Like salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, pins and needles, you just gotta have the combo for it to sound right.
And, yes, North Mankato voters get to weigh in on both District 2 and 5. Ask Us Guy checked the Minnesota Secretary of State’s sample ballot for other places across Nicollet County, and it looks like everybody will be deciding the fate of those two offices.
But the results are already decided, unless there’s a spirited Soil and Water Conservation write-in campaign underway that Ask Us Guy doesn’t know about. Eric Annexstad is the only candidate seeking the District 2 supervisor position, and Mary Peichel has no opposition for the District 5 spot.
As for what a Soil and Water Conservation District is, the whole thing dates back to the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s when the valuable topsoil of the Midwest was disappearing due to a combination of weather and farming practices. The Minnesota Legislature set up the process for creating the districts in 1938 with the goal of supporting the conservation of soil and water on private land.
Most people pay no attention to the districts until they look at their general election ballot in even-numbered years, which is when they sometimes send a question on the topic to Ask Us Guy. In fact, that happened following the last midterm election in 2022 when a voter suggested that it didn’t make much sense to have supervisors elected by citizens who typically have no knowledge or interest in the candidates.
With barely a week to go before Election Day, here’s a (very) brief look at Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
SWCDs cover the entire state and generally have boundaries matching county lines. Five elected supervisors govern each SWCD, setting priorities and ensuring the district meets its obligations under state law. The supervisors don’t receive a salary, although they can claim per diems of $125 for the meetings they attend.
So, every general election, voters are faced with electing either two or three supervisors to four-year terms. In Nicollet County, Annextad and Peichel’s spots won’t be on the ballot again until 2030, but the District 1, 3 and 4 seats will be up for grabs in 2028.
Anyone deciding to file will have to be prepared for the duties of the office, which involve overseeing a small staff that provide technical conservation assistance, funding and educational services for private landowners.
Q: Hi,
This is regarding the roundabout south of Mankato at the intersection of Blue Earth County Road 90 and Highway 22. This roundabout has paved pathways and curb cuts that would appear to have been intended for crosswalks. If they are crosswalks, there are no painted lines or signage to alert drivers to them. Was this intentional? It seems every time I go to use these crosswalks to cross Highway 22, I encounter vehicles suddenly appearing from behind the center mound of the roundabout and it becomes a bit treacherous.
Thank you!
A: That intersection is one that involves two jurisdictions. Highway 22 is owned by the state of Minnesota. And the county road was constructed by Blue Earth County in the late 1990s, with the County Board including in the project the creation of the adjacent South Route Trail. The lengthy roadside path extends west from the intersection all the way to Minneopa State Park, connecting to the Red Jacket Trail along the way.
But the South Route Trail has no trail to connect to on that portion of Highway 22 or on County Road 90 east of the highway (although long-term transportation plans suggest eventually adding paths on Highway 22 to create a more comprehensive trail network.)
So what’s the point of the pathways on the four quadrants of the roundabout? And since those pathways are in place, shouldn’t they have painted urban-style crosswalks where they travel over the driving lanes?
“MnDOT constructed and maintains that intersection so I will defer to them to respond,” said Blue Earth County Public Works Director Ryan Thilges.
MnDOT Traffic Engineer Scott Thompson, an Ask Us column veteran, provided a quick and thorough response.
“Good question!” Thompson wrote. “Yes, the paved paths and ramps were intentional and provide ADA-accessible connections for South Route Trail users starting from, or opting to continue, beyond the intersection on the shoulders of Highway 22 or County Road 90.”
As for the absence of traditional crosswalk signs and markings, Thompson said that’s intentional, too, aimed at discouraging people on foot or on bike from assuming that drivers are going to be on the lookout for pedestrians in the same way they are in an urban setting.
“Given the rural context of the roundabout and low pedestrian crossing activity, the crossings were designed without conventional painted crosswalks or pedestrian crossing signs,” Thompson said. “Omitting those typical features helps distinguish the crossings from traditional pedestrian crossings and encourages pedestrians and bicyclists to use additional caution before crossing.”
Contact Ask Us at The Free Press, 418 S. Second St., Mankato, MN 56001. Call Mark Fischenich at 344-6321 or email your question to mfischenich@mankatofreepress.com; put Ask Us in the subject line.