WADENA — New Wadena City Administrator Kim Schroeder is proud of the staff that keeps the city moving forward as she gets to know the inner workings of Wadena after a little over two months on the job.
“The council needs to be very proud and the community needs to be proud of the staff,” Schroeder said. “The department heads are knowledgeable. They understand business and what it takes to have a good plan for budgeting.”
Coming from smaller cities, Schroeder said it’s been a pleasure to work in a larger setting with competent staff. The former Henning, Minn., city clerk/treasurer and Parkers Prairie city clerk/treasurer accepted the Wadena administrator job and began work on May 16.
Schroeder held her position in Henning for three and a half years. Prior to this, she served as a human resource generalist for Wadena County, for about two years, and as the city clerk for the City of Parkers Prairie for nearly 17 years. She holds an associate degree in accounting from Alexandria Technical College.
Schroeder recalls her early days growing up in the area and now coming back to Wadena, she said she can see a big change in the atmosphere.
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“I can see the big changes,” she said. She’s excited for change and said it needs to happen in Wadena to keep growing. “We have a college here, schools, Tri-County Health Care, along with multiple others – we need to grow.”
Schroeder said she believes in being a team player and trusting the staff and council to work together towards the common goals for Wadena. She believes that trust and pride in work goes a long way in making the community find success.
“You have to trust your staff. And I see a lot of trust at the council level,” Schroeder said. “That’s a big element.”
With over 20 years in the public sector, Schroeder said she enjoys working in government. She said she enjoys being a team player.
“I like the more structured element of working in government and serving the people,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder is excited about future developments in the community. She comes as the community is on the cusp of growing a housing development at Folkestad’s East; as Tri-County Health Care completes their new hospital and developable property; and the city continues to add businesses, both retail and industrial. Much work has been done on the highways and streets with much more to come including work on Hwy 10 and 71 in 2025. Guiding her through what’s already been done is David Evans, who has served as interim city administrator and utility superintendent in the absence of an administrator.
Schroeder said the city staff have already been doing a great job at developing long-term plans for budgeting. She looks to work towards bringing all those plans together to really get a handle on strategic goals for the city.
She is also excited about what the future holds for building up the business community. In one of her first city council meetings the council approved ARPA funding to help assist in hiring a chamber of commerce director that can guide the community forward.
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Schroeder currently lives in Carlos while her school-aged daughter attends Parkers Prairie. She has a son, Jordan, age 20, who attends NDSU and two daughters, Amber and McKenna.
“Even though I live outside the community, I take huge pride in being a part of the community I work for,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder makes a mean jar of salsa, likes to play co-ed volleyball and her world revolves around her children.
“I want to be the best mom I can be,” she said.
While she is busy in her new job and being a mom, she’s already joined the local Wadena Rotary Club to help her get to know more people and issues in the community while serving locally as well.
To contact Schroeder, reach her at the city office at 222 2nd Street SE, call her at 218-632-2750 or reach out through the city’s online contact portal at wadena.org .
The Trust Project
