by Mike Knaak
editor@thenewsleaders.com
When new St. Joseph City Council member Brian Theisen is sworn in Jan. 7, he’ll bring years of problem solving and public-service experience.
Theisen, 40, is a Stearns County deputy and member of the St. Joseph Fire Department.
“I’ll be problem-solving for the city. That’s what I do 50 hours a week as a deputy,” Theisen said. “You listen to both sides and you make a determination of what’s best for everyone.”
Voters re-elected Anne Buckvold and elected Brian Theisen to four-terms on the City Council. Incumbent City Council member Dale Wick lost his bid for re-election in a three-way race for two seats. Buckvold received 1,555 votes, Theisen won 1,381 votes and Wick collected 1,013 votes. Mayor Rick Schultz ran un-opposed for another two-year term.
Theisen emphasized two issues during the campaign – crime-free housing and business development – and he’s looking forward to working on those topics when he takes office.
Crime-free housing focuses on apartment buildings.
“The big thing for apartment buildings is to secure (the) front door with access only to tenants or they have to allow people in,” Theisen said. “A lot of it has to do with lighting. You want the entrances lit up, bushes and shrubs neatly trimmed around ground-floor apartments so you can’t have someone hiding and staring in the windows.”
Theisen suspects city ordinances will need to be modified to accommodate those standards.
“Waite Park, Sartell and a lot of the area towns have it,” he said. “We do not. It’s a way to keep the city safe.”
He wants the city to maintain its base of locally-owned businesses but to also attract new companies that may not be able to find space or a location in St. Cloud.
“It’s important to keep the local businesses that are owned by local people,” Theisen said. “But St. Joseph has the opportunity to get some bigger and different businesses. St. Joseph has the opportunity to be a major suburb.”
In preparation for taking his council seat, Theisen has met with Schultz about his committee assignments including parks, planning and economic development.
He’s interested in all of them but hasn’t been assigned yet.
“I see things from a different perspective because of my law enforcement career,” Theisen said. “There are certain things people want to bring to the city that maybe they don’t think about.
“It’s gonna be a fun and exciting challenge,” Theisen said.
Theisen has been a Stearns deputy since 2001 and before that worked in the Albany and Avon police departments. He’s been on the fire department for six years.
Theisen graduated from Kimball High School and earned a law enforcement degree from Ridgewater College in Willmar.
He and his wife have five children ages 5 to 15 and have lived in St. Joseph since 2004.
“Once I became established and knew I was going to stay I wanted to see what else I could do to help the city,” Theisen said. “Joining the fire department was one way. Now on the City Council, I want to do what I can to make sure it’s a decent place. Helping people and public safety are in my blood.”
