— Message from President/CEO Neal Suess
As you may be aware, the District will see a distinct change in our Board of Directors next year. Effective with the new year in 2023, the District will go from a ten-member Board of Directors to a nine-member Board of Directors.
Why did this happen? It was due to the change in the distribution of people in the District’s four-county service area from the 2010 Census to the 2020 Census. As the District’s Board and management started to look at the 2020 Census figures, it became clear that the District needed to go to a nine-member Board to keep an even population between District subdivisions.
The populations in the District’s two largest cities —Columbus and Schuyler — are growing at a rate much faster than the rest of the District. Many areas of the District outside of Columbus and Schuyler actually decreased in population from 2010 to 2020, which caused an even greater shift in the population numbers.
As the Board members started to review the data, it became very clear that the western part of the District’s operating area (specifically Boone County
and Nance County) would be unable to support a director from each county. Instead, the counties needed to have one director from Boone and Nance County.
In the November election, Board member Alan Drozd defeated Board member Ross Knott for this seat. In the other races involving District subdivisions, Director Jim Donoghue and Director Larry Zach were victorious in their reelection bids.
With that, we at the District will say goodbye to Director Ross Knott from Petersburg. Director Knott has been on the District Board since 2017 and served as Board Chairman in 2021. He brought a wealth of knowledge to the District with his involvement in the banking industry and his vast knowledge of ranching in the panhandle areas of Nebraska.
The Loup Power District Board of Directors has always brought a wide variety of business understanding to their positions and this has made the District Board very unique. This is one of the main reasons that I have enjoyed working at Loup Power District — I get a better understanding of different industries from people who are leaders in those industries.
We want to wish Director Knott, his wife Danielle, and the rest of his family the best of luck in their future endeavors. They will be missed as part of the Loup Power District family.