Mandan Minute

September 29, 2023

Health Insurance Update

At the Sept. 19 City Commission meeting, the commission made a motion to not make any plan design changes to health insurance for the 2024 plan year, utilizing various cost saving measures to fund the additional increase. Commissioners also approved forming a committee to evaluate possible options in preparation for changes to the 2025 plan year with the understanding the funding for the current plan at this time is not sustainable.

The committee being formed in October will be an active approach to finding a sustainable option while also educating existing employees on changes that may be forthcoming. The committee will aim to have identified various options for plan changes by March 31, 2024 for the 2025 budget.

HEALTH INSURANCE TERMS

Deductible is the amount you will have to pay for covered health care services before your insurance plan starts to pay.

Coinsurance is the percentage of the bill you pay after you meet your deductible.

Our plan is an 80/20 plan meaning that insurance pays 80% of covered services and you’ll be responsible for 20%, until you meet the out-of-pocket maximum.

Out-of-pocket maximum is a cap, or limit, on the amount of money you have to pay for covered health care services in a plan year. If you meet that limit, your health plan will pay 100% of all covered health care costs for the remainder of the plan year.

Copay is a set fee you pay for a doctor visit or prescription. Copays do not count toward your deductible and only go away after you have reached your out-of-pocket maximum.

Open Enrollment coming soon!

It’s that time of year…open enrollment for 2024 benefits will be taking place soon. Be sure to check your email inbox for updates from the Human Resources department for timelines and additional information.

July Walking Challenge results

The Safety & Wellness Committee organized a walking challenge in July which took staff on a virtual walk of England's World Heritage Trail. 15 members participated in the walk, completing the trail on July 25 and walking a total of 2,271,460 steps!

Reisenauer completes Bismarck Marathon

Building Inspector Carolyn Reisenauer and her son Kolten completed the Bismarck Marathon on Sept. 14.

Carolyn finished her first marathon in 4 hours and 52 minutes and Koleton finished in 3 hours and 53 minutes.

Way to go Carolyn & Koleton!

Jacobchick competes in Firefighter Challenges around U.S.

Joshua Jacobchick has been a Firefighter/EMT with the Mandan Fire Department for 11 years and recently started competing in Firefighter Challenges around the U.S. He has competed twice in Bismarck; as well as FDIC Firefighter Challenges in Indianapolis, IN; Virginia Beach, VA; Murray, UT; Las Vegas, NV; and Hoover, AL. His final run of 2023 will be in Stuart, Florida at Worlds in October.

Jacobchick’s dedication and determination show as he improves his run times at every competition.

He quickly discovered a strong passion for pushing himself mentally, physically and professionally.

He's had a lot of support from his brothers and sisters within the Mandan Fire Department and mentoring and training from Lucas Krueger who is a fellow competitor and Lion's Den Member within the Firefighter Challenge.

Jacobchick receives an abundance of support from his wife Ashley and their two girls, as well as their family and friends.

In just a short time, Jacobchick has been tirelessly working on pushing his body to its fullest potential, improving his run time by 52 seconds in total since his first run at the Bismarck Firefighter Challenge. His new personal goal is to further improve his time by an additional 13 seconds with only one challenge remaining this year.

Jacobchick's ultimate goal is to make the Lions Den, which consists of athletes who have distinguished themselves on the course by posting a time of 100 seconds or under. You can watch him compete by following his wife Ashley Jacobchick or Firefighter Challenge on Facebook and Instagram.

Firefighters participate in 9/11 memorial stair climb

Several Mandan firefighters participated in the annual 9/11 memorial stair climb on Sept.11 at the Starion Sports Complex. Firefighters climbed the equivalent of 110 stories in remembrance of those who lost their lives during the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001.

Chad Nicklos, Mersiha Arapovic, Cal Krueger, Andrew Beck, Myles Schafer, Erik Short, Cameron Igou, and Matt Bauer all participated in the stair climb. Representatives from Marathon Refinery also participated

Singer to serve on International Mechanical Code Committee

Building Official Jordan Singer was recently selected as 1 of 15 board members nationwide to serve on the International Mechanical Code Committee (IMC). His term begins in January.

The IMC establishes minimum requirements for mechanical systems using prescriptive and performance-related provisions. It is founded on broad-based principles that make possible the use of new materials and new designs.

Singer will represent Mandan and the state of North Dakota well!

Schmidt is Leadership Bismarck Mandan Alumni Association Board President

Communications Specialist Kari Schmidt is beginning her term as board president for the Leadership Bismarck Mandan Alumni Association (LBMAA). LBMAA is made up of graduates from the Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC's Leadership Program. The program has been in existence since 1990 with the goal to improve the Bismarck Mandan community through collective leadership efforts.

LBMAA expands on the Leadership program by offering continued training, volunteer and networking opportunities to its members. LBMAA members are active in Chamber EDC activities, serve on boards and committees of many nonprofit organizations and volunteer in numerous roles.

Schmidt is a graduate of the 2021 Bismarck Mandan Leadership program and began serving on the board in Oct. 2021, bringing many LBMAA events to Mandan.

Milbrath moves on to all-Army shooting competition

Engineering Tech Nick Milbrath is a Sgt First Class in the North Dakota Army National Guard. In July, Milbrath competed in the State Adjutant General Shooting Competition and finished 8^th out of 106 in the individual competition in the state, and his team took first place out of 26 teams! He received the Governors Top 20 tab for being in the 20^th percentile of all shooters, both pistol and rifle badges, and qualified to attend the regional competition in Wyoming in August.

During the regional competition, North Dakota Air and Army National Guard sent three combined teams to compete against teams from South Dakota, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon. Milbrath was part of North Dakota’s Alpha team and was considered the top novice on the team of four. After 10 matches, he placed 22^nd individually out of 68 and his team once again took first!

Milbrath’s team will move on to an all-Army competition in the spring, competing against every region’s best team and active duty teams.

Matches consisted of individual pistol and rifle, as well as a timed exercise using a rifle, pistol and shotgun. Milbrath has competed in the state competition five times, but this was his first time qualifying for the regional and all-Army competitions.

After high school, Milbrath served 4 years of active duty in Ft. Hood, Texas and then entered the guard in 2010. Thank you for your service, Nick. Good luck in the all-Army competition!

Employee Spotlight - Jonathan Fleischer

Jonathan Fleischer has been with the City of Mandan for two and a half years. He is a Real Property Appraiser in the Assessing Department.

Fun Fact about you: I recently grew enough grapes to make 6 quarts of grape juice, and I am considering making wine in the future.

What do you do in your role? Set values for residential and commercial properties.

What do you love most about your job? Working with the residents of Mandan and a great team of co-workers.

What’s a hobby you have outside of work? Hunting.

What’s one item you can’t live without? Daily cup of coffee.

What’s your favorite thing to do in Mandan? Beer and conversation at Dialectic Brewing.

What’s your favorite restaurant/business in Mandan? Balancing Goat Coffee Co for their great coffee and fresh food. Honorable mention: Old 10 Bar & Grill and Rice Bowl.

Department Spotlight - Assessing

What are the main responsibilities of your department? Equitably value property for taxation purposes; tracking transfer of ownership; and processing Homestead and Veterans Credits and Exemptions.
What is the structure of your department? The Assessing Department is made up of four full-time and one part-time employee: City Assessor Kimberly Markley; Senior Real Property Appraiser Brenda Johnson; Real Property Appraiser Jonathan Fleischer; Real Property Appraiser Tech Karissa Tuggle. This summer and last, part-time Real Property Appraiser Assistant Tom Litt has been helping the department.
How can your fellow co-workers help your department? Assessor Markley states that the utility billing department, specifically Dayne Anderson, is a great help when it comes to obtaining phone numbers and answering the department's duplex questions.
What’s your favorite thing about your department? Talking with residents about their exemptions and properties.

JULY

Olivia Geiger, MMPL Circulation Desk Assistant

Kyle Haman, Police Officer

Kerri Altieri, MMPL Public Services Associate

AUGUST

Justin Janes, Police Officer

Christopher Sagers, Police Officer

Braden Bushee, Part-time Firefighter

Cameron Igou, Firefighter/EMT

Omar Foley, Junior Firefighter

Luis Munoz, Police Officer

Tyler Seilinger, Police Officer

Myles Schafer, Firefighter/EMT

SEPTEMBER

Tawnie Jensen, MMPL Public Services Associate

Derek Berger, Equipment Operator I (Street)

August

Tyler Bahm

Jonathan Henry

Edward Kear

Kimberly Markley

Barb Sandstrom

Colton Ternes

September

Brenton Beckler

Angela Black

Matteo DiDonna

Adam Elletson

Lindsay Gerhardt

Brenda Johnson

Brayden McClure

Sara Schluender

Kayla Steinwand

Kylan Williams

October

Dayne Anderson

Brittany Cullen

Brandon Hauck

Sara Materi

David Raugust

Kari Schmidt

Jordan Singer

Travis Tekippe

Mary Ternes

Thank you all for your service and dedication to the City of Mandan!

Get to know our commissioners

Commissioner Dennis Rohr is serving his fourth term as City Commissioner. He served as Mandan Police Chief for 21 years before retiring in 2007.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: Free time, to most is when one is not working. I am supposed to be retired (age 79), so I don’t have a structured free time. I still teach criminal justice classes at BSC with several on-line classes this fall. I have been an adjunct professor at BSC for 25 years. It takes a lot of time for on-line class development, especially when adapting to a new software format. Once class starts, I may have forty or more students to work with.

I also manage some small apartment units for a friend and I still do hand writing cases for attorneys and others whereby I determine whether or not a handwriting is authentic or a forgery. I have worked over 1,200 cases for a period of forty years - have worked cases for federal, state, local agencies along with cases for attorneys and private persons. I will be testifying in a case in South Dakota this fall. Handwriting experts are becoming harder to find due to people using computers and writing less. Also training facilities, such as through the FBI and Secret Service, are no longer available.

Q: What’s something about you that not everyone knows? (Maybe a hidden talent, hobby, etc.)

A: I enjoy watching and reading about World War II. I stay away from social media and don’t watch mainstream media news very often. Sometimes I take online college courses from Hillsdale College, especially those concerning history.

I have always been an avid believer in trying to eat healthy foods and exercise often. I still exercise at least three times per week at the gym, (may need to take an aspirin afterwards), I was into bodybuilding when I was in my 30’s.

Music has been a large part of my life. I currently play drums in a local band named “Classic Rhythm.” We play mostly 50’s to 70’s music. I started playing rock n roll in the late 50’s. I have played drums with many other bands with other styles of music as well.

Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in Mandan?

A: I currently like the new Mexican restaurant (La Cantina) on Main Street but also patronize others. I don’t favor fast foods.

Q: What do you like most about being a City Commissioner?

A: Having worked in city government for over forty years, (21 years as Chief of Police in Mandan) I have become acclimated to the workings of local government and the changing issues over time. I like working in an environment whereby I can have some positive effect on a community. I also enjoy having a competent staff of people, working in city government in Mandan, whom I trust and help provide me with information and direction in areas where I lack understanding or expertise. I thank the good Lord for the many blessings provided to me and my family by living in Mandan.

Portfolio Assignments:

BisMan Transit Board of Directors (liaison)
Fire
Police
Committees
CenComm
Law Enforcement Center Advisory Committee
Morton County Planning & Zoning
Parking Authority

Contact Information

Click here to sign up

Sign up for Employee Alerts

The City of Mandan now has Short Message Service (SMS) capabilities. This service allows communications staff to send text alerts to different groups. Visit lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/ZPB1Kun/mandanemployees or click the link to the left to sign up to receive future City of Mandan employee text alerts. Examples of messages to this group include City Hall office closures and other employee specific messages. Users may receive up to three messages per month and have the ability to opt-out at any time.