2026 District Meeting Recap
Over 150+ combined members from Districts 2, 5, and 8 joined CEO Joel Janorschke and staff to take part in determining future LREC District Directors during our annual District Meetings, held this year over two days on Jan. 15 and 16, 2026.
Attended both in person at Detroit Lakes, Frazee, and Battle Lake locations and virtually via the LREC website, district meetings continued to provide members with important financial and operation updates as well as the opportunity to actively participate in the local governance of their co-op. Following a brief welcome, the meetings opened with a call for district director nominations; incumbent Directors Cecil ‘Bud’ Hensel and Patrick Meyers were nominated as candidates in Districts 2 and 5, respectively, and will run unopposed. John Schauff was nominated as director, along with incumbent Jim Gronbeck, for District 8. Full candidate bios will included in our March NewsFlashes, with paper voting ballots expected to arrive in members’ mailboxes by the end of that month. Voting will continue through the 2026 Annual Meeting date of April 30, where results will be announced and directors confirmed for their upcoming terms.
After the conclusion of the nominating process, Janorschke led members through a presentation that balanced LREC-specific information — Member Satisfaction survey results, preliminary year-end financials and progress/planning for vegetation management and construction work plan projects — with a broader look how current industry trends shape our decisions and their effect on other MN co-ops as well. Plans to develop a members-only portal on our website that will include a video recording of this year’s meeting are in the works; details will be included in a future NewsFlashes and on social media once that is complete.Active participation from members in events like these reinforces the cooperative difference, where our principles of democratic control and autonomy can be demonstrated by having their voices heard. We appreciate your efforts to stay engaged, and encourage all members to attend our Annual Meeting in April.