By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners convened as the Otter Tail County Drainage Authority on Nov. 4 and agreed to partner with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and enter into a Joint Powers Agreement. This allows for funding the completion of engineering and design necessary to remove a pedestrian arch bridge near Indian Lake and the town of Basswood, near the southeast side of Dead Lake in central Otter Tail County.

Minnesota’s DNR plans to improve fish passage and aquatic ecology in the Dead River system, south of Dead Lake, and has collaborated with the Otter Tail County Drainage Authority to provide fish passage at the Dead Lake outlet dam.

“Initial engineering and design work is necessary for an anticipated collaborative application for grant funding via Legacy Amendment programs,” said county Drainage Inspector Colby Palmersheim to county commissioners who comprise the drainage authority.

The Otter Tail County Drainage Authority, which is the County Board of Commissioners, is responsible for the oversight of the county’s drainage systems. Their duties include administering ditch proceedings, maintaining and improving ditch infrastructure, appointing inspectors and viewers, conducting re-determinations of benefits and consolidating ditches. 

Otter Express transfer

of funding approved

The Otter Express bus service, operated for many years in Otter Tail County by Fergus Falls-based Productive Alternatives, is shifting to a Joint Powers Board consisting of county government and area communities. The official changeover is expected to take place on June 30, 2026. 

Grant applications need to be completed through the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT). With this in mind the county board of commissioners, on Nov. 4, voted to transfer funds in the amount of $25,000 to support start-up operational needs of the Joint Powers Board.

The five-member county board previously committed to provide a total of $110,000 in county funding support for calendar year 2026. 

At a previous county board meeting, Commissioner Kurt Mortenson of rural Underwood stated, “Public transportation, and bus service in particular, is very important here in Otter Tail County.” The other four commissioners who concurred with Mortenson are Board Chairman Wayne Johnson of Pelican Rapids, Dan Bucholz of Perham, Bob Lahman of Parkers Prairie and Sean Sullivan of Fergus Falls.

The Joint Powers Board will oversee all aspects of Otter Express operations and planning, approve and monitor annual budgets and financial reports, set and revise routes, schedules, fares, and capital plans and manage federal, state, and local funding and grant compliance.