City Council welcomes new officers with swearing-in ceremony

Family and friends gathered to show their support for Springfield’s newest police officers during the last City Council meeting. The council meeting began with a swearing-in and pinning ceremony for the officers. 

Chief John Nicholson introduced the three new officers: Michael Colvin who stated in February as the community’s full -time Police Investigator. Colvin comes from Montana along with his family and has over 16 years in law enforcement including supervisory experience.  Alex Esser who was previously on the part time roster, started as a full time Patrol Officer with nearly five years of law enforcement experience. Much of this time was with the Redwood Country Sheriff’s Department. Zac Rutscher was raised in Sleepy Eye and is currently a Corrections Officer for Brown County. Springfield Police is training Zack in his first role as a Patrol Officer.  

Mayor Helget thanked the officers for serving our community and keeping our residents safe. The Springfield Police Department is now fully staffed for the first time in several years.

After the introductions, the officers were sworn in and a family member pinned the officers badge on in a touching ceremony. 

Interest averaging policy approved

Council approved an interest averaging policy which was recommended by the city auditors.  

“Right now, the way the city has been operating, we have different funds that invest CDs, and we’re keeping track of the interest earned on those CDs and which funds it belongs to. The auditor pointed out that that is not necessarily a equitable way to split the interest out between these funds,” explained City Manager Amber Dale. 

See complete story in this week's issue of the Springfield Advance-Press.