Dunn County highway commissioner resigns

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE  — Dunn County’s highway commissioner, Jesse Rintala, has submitted his resignation.

Rintala’s resignation will go into effect September 10, said Gary Seipel, Dunn County Board supervisor from Eau Galle, at the Dunn County Board’s July 26 meeting.

Seipel is chair of the county board’s highway and transit committee.

Rintala has accepted a position in Portage County, he said.

The committee has already started looking for Rintala’s replacement. The highway and transit committee will be responsible for hiring the new highway commissioner, and interviews for the position are expected to be conducted August 30, Seipel reported.

Dunn County may need to hire an interim county highway commissioner for a month or two until a new commissioner can be hired and is able to take over the position, he said.

Dunn County’s highway commissioner is now technically the director of public works.

Rintala replaced M.O. (Mully) Brenden, who retired in December of 2012 after 20 years of service to Dunn County.

Brenden passed away in September of 2015.

At the time Brenden retired, Rintala had been employed by the Dunn County highway department for six years and was the county’s highway engineer.

Rintala was appointed as acting highway commissioner, and later on, he was hired for the position.