Andrew Larson is the Executive Director for Tri-County Community Corrections, located in Crookston, Minnesota. Tri-County Community Corrections provides all adult and juvenile correctional services ranging from a regional jail and juvenile center to probation and parole services delivered in the community. Mr. Larson has nearly a quarter-century of corrections experience, including as a corrections officer, probation agent, jail administrator, and now director. He is committed to managing correctional services that focus more on rehabilitation and less on punishment. Mr. Larson also serves on the board for a local homeless shelter and the Glenmore Foundation, which addresses chemical dependency.
Greg Widseth is the elected Polk County, Minnesota, Attorney, a position he has held since January 2003. Before becoming the county attorney, he was in private practice, handling a variety of civil and criminal cases. He has a long history of handling cases involving substance use/misuse and helped establish the Polk County DWI Court program. A native of Polk County, Mr. Widseth graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and subsequently received his juris doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Jim Tadman is the Sheriff of Polk County, Minnesota, and has been with the sheriff’s office for 35 years. His passion is to build strong relationships between the sheriff’s office and the communities. He is thrilled to work with the Reaching Rural Project and his community partners to find resources on the mental health and substance use disorder issues that the county is facing.
Joan Lee is a county commissioner in Polk County, Minnesota. Before being elected as a county commissioner, she spent her time working on her family’s dairy farm and being involved in her community. In college, she earned degrees in accounting and Legal Secretary.
Molly Paulsrud is a social service supervisor who has worked at Polk County Social Services in Minnesota for 23 years. She has spent that time in the programs of child protection/child welfare and recently with substance use disorder, adult mental health, and long-term care. Ms. Paulsrud enjoys building teams, working across sectors to best meet the needs of those served. She is excited to expand her work and collaboration through the Reaching Rural project.
Sarah Reese is the local Public Health Administrator for the Polk-Norman-Mahnomen Community Health Board and Director of Polk County Public Health in rural Northwest Minnesota. Having worked in governmental public health for most of her career, she has a passion for people and a knack for connecting and mobilizing resources to tackle public health challenges.
Shannon Kronlund is the Director of Outpatient Services at Alluma in Northwest Minnesota, where she oversees counseling and therapy, psychiatry, and substance use disorder services to provide collaborative, whole-person care and foster overall well-being for clients. Ms. Kronlund graduated from the University of North Dakota with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in social work.