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Let's Visit Walker: Joanne Pels

@curingsillyliam Facebook Page
Joanne Pels

Walker … it's almost like a storybook...It's still small enough that you can know everybody if you choose to. You can be private if you don't…Who would want to leave this, ever?

JoAnn Pells has spent nearly her entire life in the Walker area.  After encouragement from acquaintances, when she was nearing the age of 40, she decided to run for Cass County Commissioner. 

I'm a believer if you don't like it you, gotta dive in, try to make change. So I threw my hat in the ring and then I won…

The first female commissioner in Cass County, Joanne was passionate about educated decisions, input from constituents, public access to county meetings and positive relations between tribal and non-tribal entities.  In this segment of Let’s Visit, learn about how her history and work experiences enhanced her work as a commissioner and how her perspective inspired changes throughout the county.

…you can't run just because you want to run and beat somebody. You can't talk about what you don't like about somebody else. What you gotta do is talk about why, what spurred you on…

Katie Carter started at Northern Community Radio in 2008 as Managing Editor of the station's grant-funded, online news experiment Northern Community Internet. She returned for a second stint in 2016-23. She produced Area Voices showcasing the arts, culture, and history stories of northern Minnesota.