Douglas County Board fills vacancies in two elected offices

Shelley Nelson, Superior Telegram, Wis.
·2 min read

May 19—SUPERIOR — The Douglas County Board made two appointments Thursday, May 18 to fill vacancies for elected officials.

Randy Skowlund, partially retired co-owner of A-Plus Computers, will fill the vacancy on the county board left by Michael Raunio's resignation in late March. Raunio resigned as the 8th District representative in late March because he moved out of the district.

Skowlund was also appointed to serve on the Metropolitan Interstate Council as a Douglas County representative and on the county's Health and Human Services Board.

"I'm a lifelong resident of Superior and Douglas County, and I currently reside in the Hayes Court area," Skowlund said. "I'm a 24-year co-owner of a business here in Superior, and I'm semi-retired from that. My son is my co-partner."

Skowlund said he applied for the position out of a desire to give back to the community and to help Douglas County remain a good place to live and raise a family.

"We had a very nice interview, a very nice conversation," said Mark Liebaert, county board chair. "I thought he was a good fit for the board here. I'll be anxious to see how he blossoms into that job."

The board also appointed the county's next treasurer. Current Treasurer Carol Jones announced plans to retire June 9 to spend more time with family.

Deputy Treasurer Amy Tyson was selected to serve the remainder of Jones' term, which expires in January 2025. Tyson has worked in the county treasurer's office since March 2021. Prior to joining the county, she had eight years of office and accounting experience.

Jones said Tyson was very helpful as the county navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.

"She learned so much, and I am very proud of her," Jones said. "I told our administrator months ago that she is the future of Douglas County."

When Liebaert interviewed Tyson, he said it was obvious Jones had prepared her well. He appreciated that Tyson had ideas about how to improve the county treasurer's office.

"Some of the goals that I have is to have some organization to daily tasks; improving the work environment to be more positive and outgoing; and better customer service with the public, with the past due collection process," Tyson said.

Tyson steps into her new role effective June 10.

In other business, the board:

*

Approved increasing the starting wage for seasonal highway workers from $15 per hour to $17 per hour.

* Updated its banking depositories to reflect Jones' retirement and Tyson's appointment as county treasurer.