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In June of 2023, Mower County Administrator Trish Harren Gjersvik announced she was resigning from her position to take the same job in Kittson County.

It was a move Harren Gjersvik said was made in order to be closer to family, however, it was just a couple weeks later that she rescinded her resignation, explaining that there was still work to do and she had family right here in Austin.

“Today, I would say I’ve created obsolescence for myself,” she said this past Tuesday, just days before her time officially ended with Mower County — for a second time. “I’ve created so many strong leaders that they don’t need me anymore and that’s the perfect time to go.”

Harren Gjersvik and her husband Neal are moving to Crosby, Minnesota to take the city administrator position in the community of 2,500 just north of Brainerd.

Surrounded by trees and lakes, the area speaks to many of the things the couple has come to enjoy with each other.

The final days of last week represented the end of a six-year run for Harren Gjersvik, who came to Austin from Warroad in December of 2018. Moving the entire length of the state of Minnesota was a big decision, but one that spoke to Harren Gjersvik.

“I read somewhere that Austin once won an award for the most random acts of kindness,” she said. “I was really attracted to move to a place where generosity and service were core values in the community. I just knew it was the tip of the iceberg when I came here, but what I found was that it really was just the tip of the iceberg.”

“I think I got everything I had hoped for and more,” she added.

Harren Gjersvik came at a time of transition for the county as it made the switch from a county coordinator to a county administrator format.

The change represented an altering of systematic changes in how Mower was governed. A coordinator coordinates the departments in their day to day activities, but the departments themselves report directly to the Mower County Board of Commissioners.

With the advent of the administrator system, departments reported instead to Harren Gjersvik, leaving the board free to focus on governance and policy.

“It’s really kind of an evolution of county governments from having your county board involved in day-to-day operations to shifting their roles in policy making and impacting legislation and things that really make the most difference given their roles,” Harren Gjersvik said.

Harren Gjersvik was replacing Craig Oscarson, who had just retired after 30 years in the position of county coordinator, however, she didn’t come in with any preconceived notions in regard to goals.

Rather, it came down initially to getting to know the county; it’s comings and goings and where the work needed to be focused.

“You don’t really come in with preconceived ideas,” Harren Gjersvik said, explaining that you want to create good governance and keep taxes low. “How you do that is really driven by employees so the first thing that I did was hire a consultant to come in and do interviews with all of our staff and find out what’s working really well for them. What are the challenge points for them and then the goals and vision for the future came out of that.”

From this early work, the roots were planted for the leadership and structure the county has today.

“That is what drives me as a leader,” Harren Gjersvik said. “I am really passionate about creating work environments where people can thrive.”

As part of that, the old structure was altered so as to better promote interdepartmental work and an understanding of what each department did.

As employees bought into these efforts, the county turned into more of an efficient machine and the benefits for that expanded into the citizens of the county.

“I think it’s immeasurable,” Harren Gjersvik said. “There are things that are happening every single day here because employees are talking to one another and they are working together to solve problems.”

As the scope of benefits expanded countywide, Harren Gjersvik said that she had become especially proud of how the county has approached the housing question through the development of its tax abatement program.

To date, the county has added almost $80 million worth of value as well as having added over 300 units of housing. Coming in, Harren Gjersvik said the county was short 800 units and while there is still a gap, the county has still been able to make measurable progress.

“That’s a lot of housing units and we already have some of those new homes coming off of receiving the tax abatement,” Harren Gjersvik said. “I hope to see that program moving forward to build more housing.”

She is also proud of the county’s work toward employee engagement and while all of these things taken together are optimistic trends going forward, Harren Gjersvik admits there is still work in other areas yet to be done.

“I think the Hometown Food Security Program … I had really hoped we would be a little further along with reducing the amount of food insecurity we have, but it is a big vision,” she said. “It’s a big goal in reducing it from nine or 10% down to 3% and the county plays a big role in that.”

“But the seeds have been planted and they will sprout and grow like a sunflower,” she added.

During the recognition portion of the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, officials from both the county and the city expressed their feelings about working with Harren Gjersvik and at times, the meeting became emotional.

Harren Gjersvik, herself, spoke glowingly about her time with the county and living in Austin, where she “truly found the love of my life” in Neal.

“I’m extremely grateful for all of the support people have given me,” she said. “I hope to see these people again.”