IVANHOE — The Lincoln County Board voted 3-0 Tuesday to approve the purchase of two vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department. Commissioners Joseph Drietz and Steve Huswedell were absent.

The county will purchase two Dodge Ram pickup trucks at a cost of $37,446 per vehicle. The price does not include the specialized equipment for law enforcement duties.

The commissioners also approved payment of renewal server license fees in the amount of $26,919 to the public sector safety and administration software company CentralSquare.

In other business, the board voted to authorize Commissioner Joseph Drietz in his capacity as Lincoln County delegate to the Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area to sign the Joint Powers Agreement between Lincoln County and the RCRCA.

The board also voted to approve moving $200,000 from administrative into the Health Insurance account.

After a brief discussion to clarify the necessity of board approval, the board voted to approve the Memorandum of Agreements between the county, the Courthouse Union and the Highway Union to allow Juneteenth to be recognized as a paid holiday for country employees during which no public services will be open.

Juneteenth is a federal and state holiday commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves celebrated on the date of the order issued by Major General Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas.

The board heard a presentation by Kevin Balfranz, representing the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust, an organization the provides Minnesota counties with insurance coverage for county employees and risk management services.

MCIT is a not for profit public joint powers entity founded after private insurance companies began to decline to cover high-risk professionals in county government according to Balfranz. Lincoln County was one of the founding members.

During the period of 2018-2022 the top three departments for workers compensation claims were sheriff/jail operations, 48%, highway departments, 11%, and hospital/nursing homes, 10%, Balfranz said.