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Area farmer replaces Jim Gebhardt, who served since district’s inception in 2007

Cedar River Watershed District has added a new board member to replace one of its original leaders who started nearly 20 years ago.

Joe Sheely, a 26-year-old farmer from the Brownsdale area in Red Rock Township, joined the board this spring after being appointed by the Mower County Board of Commissioners to a three-year term. He is one of four CRWD board members who represent Mower County on the seven-member board.

“I’m looking forward to learning and understanding more about the conservation work and practices happening in the watershed district,” said Sheely, who has experience with growing cover crops for soil-health management on his family’s farm.

Sheely replaced Jim Gebhardt, who recently retired from farming with his brothers in the Waltham area of northern Mower County. Gebhardt opted not to seek reappointment to a seventh term on the CRWD board.

“We are grateful Joe is willing to serve on the watershed board and provide his perspective as a young farmer but we also will miss Jim Gebhardt, who was a great leader for our conservation efforts for many years,” CRWD administrator Cody Fox said.

For more than a decade, Gebhardt served simultaneously on the Mower SWCD and CRWD boards. Mower SWCD staff are contracted annually by CRWD to perform the watershed district’s work.

Gebhardt was one of the original seven members in 2007 for the newly created CRWD Board of Managers. Two original members remain on the board: Mike Jones (Steele County) and Steve Kraushaar (Freeborn County).

In 2020, Gebhardt chose not to seek re-election to the Mower SWCD Board of Supervisors after serving since 1991 in that role, which included many years as the board chairman.

CRWD’s Board of Managers includes four members from Mower County because it has a majority of the watershed’s land but also has one member each from Freeborn, Steele and Dodge counties. Each is appointed by his or her county board.