By Mani Souphom – R & J Broadcasting | August 13, 2025

BAUDETTE, Minn. – On Monday August 11, 2025 the City of Baudette held their regular monthly meeting. In attendance were Baudette Mayor Dylan Hancharyk, City Council Members Cole Nelson, Steve Theis, Jr., and Liz Weigel. After the pledge of allegiance, the council approved an agenda of procedural items before turning to a more notable matter: the revival of the Chamber of Commerce.

The city council began by briefly discussing a new business, Lake of the Woods Pizza, obtaining a liquor license. A unanimous vote was cast to approve the business’s liquor license application contingent on the business fulfilling their requirements with the state.

City clerk and treasurer Tina Rennemo raised a question regarding the city’s relationship with Border Bank of Baudette, and the request made by the bank to open another account under the city’s authorization for auditing purposes. Rennemo apprised the mayor and council of the city’s already thorough auditing processes, and the decision was made to continue operating this matter of business as usual, leaving room to discuss again if needed.

From there, Rennemo also handed out plans for the city’s 2026 budget, providing department heads an opportunity to plan for staff and infrastructure needs for the next year. Considerations would need to be made in determining wages that included evaluations, cost of living, and whether the City should move forward with flat rates or percentage based wages.

In regard to that budget, we caught up with Mayor Dylan Hancharyk after the meeting to ask about progress on the splash pad slated for groundbreaking later this year. Mayor Hancharyk provided this update:

Library director Kelli Pelland shared updates on Baudette’s Public Library programs, such as the success of storytime on the hill, kids concerts, “take and create” baskets, and equipment replacements. Pelland also stated the need to hire part time personnel at the library.

Fire chief Brad Levasseur informed the city of a joint training for ambulance and emergency services that would be taking place this Saturday, August 16. This training will take place behind Baudette’s Fire Hall, and its focus will be on securing and stabilizing emergency scenes.

From there, the council discussed placement of welcome signs for the city. While all appeared to be in support of the signs, determining a location that would best serve Baudette’s residents and not encumber local government has been a challenge.

“It’s great to have welcome signs, but dealing with easements, etc. – we don’t want to go down that road,” City Councilman Cole Nelson said, expressing concern.

The City Council moved on to the topic of its Chamber of Commerce. While Erica Anderson, the city’s liquor store manager, currently serves as the Chamber’s acting president, the Chamber is still missing key members that are required to ensure the Chamber is active and able to conduct official business.

Mayor Hancharyk also went on to explain the issues facing the City of Baudette’s declining Chamber of Commerce:

Beyond the concern of Chamber responsibilities going unmet in the City of Baudette, the community must contend with potential loss of funding. At this meeting, it was discussed that the Baudette Chamber of Commerce is currently holding onto more than $60,000 in funding accumulated from grants, donations, legacy projects, and membership fees. This funding could be at risk of audit and redistribution by the State of Minnesota if the City of Baudette’s Chamber of Commerce becomes defunct without abiding by legal dissolution requirements of a Chamber as stated in Minnesota State Statute 317A.

Mayor Hancharyk informed us of the roles needed to be filled within the Chamber to move forward. These key roles are required for the Chamber to assemble, send out membership letters, and prepare for 2026. Though the City of Baudette fully supports the return of a strong Chamber for residents of Baudette, they do not appoint members to the board:

To get involved or become a board member or officer in Baudette’s Chamber of Commerce, individuals only need to be employed by a Chamber member or business.

In a closing statement, Mayor Hancharyk wanted to make sure to applaud the efforts of United Way Northeast Minnesota for the installation of the new Born Learning Trail installed at Baudette’s Timber Mill Park on August 7, 2025:

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