LCHS moves forward after lawsuit, elects new board

By: 
Wade Young

The new board of directors for the Le Sueur County Historical Society elected at the annual meeting on June 3 are (front, from left) Bonnie Reak, Dean Pettis, William Stangler, Ruth Collins, (back) Lois Mack, Bryce Stenzel, Richard Bennett, Mike Frederick, and George Luskey. (Wade Young Photo)

The Le Sueur County Historical Society (LCHS) began a new chapter on Monday.

After a year-long lawsuit where more than a dozen plaintiffs asked a judge to force transparency, a fair election and an examination of the society’s books, a new board of directors was elected.

A Nominating Committee put together a list of candidates, and the following people were officially elected: One-year terms - Bryce Stenzel, Mike Frederick, George Luskey, Richard Bennett; two-year terms - William Stangler, Dean Pettis, Lois Mack, Bonnie Reak and Ruth Collins.

After the meeting, the board elected Stangler as president, Pettis as vice president, Collins as secretary, and Reak as treasurer.

Evelyn Fierst, the only remaining member from the previous board, quit her position. Board member Jenifer Morsching had been voted out in 2017 but retained her position per the bylaws until new officers were elected. The third board member, Donna Morsching, also kept her position until Monday.

The actions culminate a rancorous relationship between the plaintiffs and the previous LCHS leadership that eventually led a Le Sueur County judge to appoint Robert T. Kugler of the Minneapolis law firm Stinson Leonard Street LLP as Receiver to take control of the society that had not been following his orders.

Kugler called the meeting and election a “fresh start” for LCHS. He complimented the members on the great artifacts and buildings in its possession, but he cautioned that everyone needs to get involved to move the society forward and help with cataloging artifacts, inventorying everything, and making building repairs. He also said the previous three board members had done a “tremendous job.”

“I urge everyone to continue to participate. This is going to take a lot of hands,” he stated.

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