LAKE VERMILION- For the first time in St. Louis County since the formal organization of Kabetogama Township in 2001, a newly organized township held its first official meeting on Tuesday at the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade’s headquarters.
The residents of Unorganized Township 63-17 voted to organize in May, and Tuesday’s meeting was intended to establish an interim organizational structure until the first official town meeting takes place next March.
At the heart of the gathering was a simple but defining question: What shall we call this place? Suggestions ranged from the geographic – Vermilion Dam, Vermilion River – to the playful and personal, like Rough Rock and Paddles. But one name seemed to catch the room’s collective attention: Goodwill.
The name was proposed by Joe Stanaway of Muskego Point Resort, which is the site of the historic Goodwill Summer Home resort founded by Isaac Goodwill in 1910, according to newspaper reports from that year. A 1999 Vermilion Lake Association newsletter said that the resort was the first on the Cook end of the lake, having a hotel with dining room and ten sleeping cabins. Around 1923 running water and telephones were added to the cabins. Five of the cabins had large stone fireplaces.
The name “Goodwill” seemed to hold a certain weight, not just as a legacy, but as a symbol of the spirit many hoped the township would embody.
Some worried the name might already be taken elsewhere in the state. A flurry of phone checks and laptop searches followed. Relief came when it appeared the name was available. A motion was made, votes were cast, and the name easily carried the day.
First, however, came the nuts and bolts of choosing the people who would fulfill the necessary functions of conducting the meeting itself. John Jordan, an original member of the group which started the drive to organize the township, was chosen as the moderator. Margaret Ratai was selected to record the meeting minutes, and Stephen Bergwall and Wendy Jordan were chosen to be election judges.
Maddie Cash, an attorney with the Minnesota Association of Townships, was on hand to lend her expertise to the proceedings, a process somewhat vague as described in state statutes.
“We haven’t had a new township (in Minnesota) in 20 years,” Cash said. “This is exciting for me. I’m happy to give you kind of a rundown of what it looks like.”
Another valuable source of information was Cathy Rouleau, who worked as a clerk in Wuori Township for 21 years and spent 20 years working as secretary and treasurer for the St. Louis County Association of Townships. Rouleau provided insights on the roles of election judges and township officials, as well as various regulations applying to township governance.
Four people – Jordan, Bill Michaelson, Rock Gillson, and Laura Prebarich – were nominated for the three interim town supervisor positions. A glitch occurred when they tried printing ballots for the voting – the printer ran out of ink after only a few were printed. Pat Michaelson took the sample ballot and went to her nearby house to print the needed forms.
While she was away, Jordan turned the focus on electing an interim clerk and found little in the way of enthusiastic volunteers for the election, with one person turning down a nomination because she would not be in the township year-round. Eventually Pam Towle volunteered for the position, receiving multiple assurances from others with relevant experience that they would help to orient and provide guidance to her. Up next was the interim treasurer position, for which Ross Polley readily accepted his nomination and was approved by the assembly.
Once Michaelson returned with the printed ballots for interim supervisor, they were passed out with the guidance that one could vote for up to three of the candidates, although they could also choose to vote for one, two, or abstain altogether. When the ballots were counted, the race was tight – Gillson and Bill Michaelson tied at the top with 27 votes each, while Jordan claimed the third spot with a narrow 25-24 margin over Prebarich.
Attendees had multiple questions that went beyond the basic organizational focus of the meeting to aspects of what the new township structure would mean. One of the first questions was about the impact of local governance on property owners’ tax statements.
Both Michalson and Jordan provided answers to that question, suggesting that owners may see a decrease in the portion of taxes that had been going to the county for road maintenance, depending on where the levy is set at the town meeting in March. When someone observed that action in March 2026 wouldn’t apply until tax year 2027, a discussion was held about the possibility of moving up the formal annual meeting to later this year. Michaelson and Cash reviewed some available materials and came to the conclusion that it would be unlikely that the township could move the meeting.
When a question came up about the impact on county maintenance of roads shifting to local control of the township, Michaelson reinforced discussions with county officials in which it was indicated that nothing would change in the way the county responds to issues – the only change would be in how the township now compensates the county for the work.
Another question came up about the township renting space in the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade facility for its office and storage. The brigade originally offered space free of charge, but state law mandates that the new township pay market rate price for renting the space, which Michaelson estimated would be in the neighborhood of $14,000 annually. It was suggested by one attendee that the new board consider the possibility of taking bids for housing township operations.
The interim board chose Tuesday, July 15 at 6 p.m. for its first official meeting at the fire hall, which is open to the public.