Cook County Administrator Jeff Cadwell announced this week he is resigning his position in the county to take a similar job in Mahnomen County. Cadwell’s last day here will be October 14. He will start in Mahnomen on October 21, where he will become the first county administrator hired by the Mahnomen board of commissioners.
The move to Mahnomen County brings Jeff back home. He served as Mahnomen city administrator and owned a home there just prior to taking the job in Cook County, which he started in late June 2015. Cadwell replaced the late Jay Kieft, who was taken by cancer after serving about one year as Cook County administrator.
Mahnomen County is similar to Cook County in population. According to the U.S. 2010 census, the population was 5,413. The county is unique in one sense; it is the only Minnesota county that lies entirely within a reservation, the White Earth Indian Reservation.
Jeff was a finalist for the Becker County administrator position that was filled in January 2019 by Mike Brethorst, who came from the city administrator position in Melrose, Minnesota.
At times Cadwell’s stay in Cook County has been rocky. District 1 Cook County Commissioner Frank Moe resigned with one year remaining on his term after his frustration with the administrator and county board about a 2017 proposed 19.9 percent levy increase, as well as other county spending, which grew too much for him to bear.
One of Moe’s final acts as an outgoing commissioner occurred during an interview by WTIP radio where he called on citizens to take back their county or be prepared to lose it. From that clarion call over WTIP airwaves, citizens started to focus more on the spending habits of county government. That closer inspection led the county board to agree to form a county budget advisory committee with a citizen from each of the five districts appointed to the committee.
In addition to Jeff’s work with the county he was a volunteer with the Cook County Community Fund. He was also a lifeguard at the YMCA and was active with the curling club, men’s golf leagues and local running and cycling groups.
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