Beltrami County Elected Officials Take Oath Of Office

Beltrami County’s latest elected officials have been sworn into office.

The ceremony was held in the Beltrami County boardroom and started off with an opening reception. During the reception, outgoing county sheriff Phil Hodapp and outgoing county commissioner Keith Winger were honored and thanked for their service. Both men gave short speeches thanking the public for their time in office.

Winger says, “I’m very blessed with the community that gave me the opportunity to serve both as sheriff and county commissioner. I feel very honored that they put enough confidence and trust in me to do those jobs.”

The reception was immediately followed by the oath of office. Craig Gassvig and Richard Anderson were sworn in for the office of county commissioner. JoDee Treat was sworn in as county auditor-treasurer. David Hanson was sworn in as county attorney and Ernie Beitel was sworn in as county sheriff.

Beitel says, “I tell ya, it’s been a lifelong dream of once when I got into this job and understanding what it is and it’s finally been fulfilled, and I couldn’t do any of that without my family, first of all, my friends and supporters, but most importantly for the co-workers that I had at the sheriff’s office. Great bunch of people to work with. They’ve done a marvelous job and I couldn’t be here without them.”

Beitel called the moment the epitome of his career. Meanwhile, Winger says he will now focus on promoting his new book during retirement.