Ryan Bettenberg always wanted to be a steward of the environment, and as Kimball city works director he is. “I’ve always been a nature, outdoorsy kind of guy,” he said. “I get to work outdoors and conserve the environment.” Although Bettenberg was just hired last November, he is already enjoying the variety of responsibilities that come with his job. “I come to work and sometimes I don’t know what I’m going to do until the day starts,” Bettenberg said. He is responsible for the water plant, parks, waste water treatment and ponds, plowing snow, and filling potholes. As the seasons change, his responsibilities change as well. Bettenberg also does paperwork for the Minn. Department of Health and Minnesota Polution Control Agency for water and waste water, and he oversees one full-time employee, Jill Holte. The varying tasks and challenges make Bettenberg’s job interesting, he said. “There are things you really can’t be trained to deal with until you actually have to deal with them,” he said, like when the water tower froze two weeks ago. Another challenge is mapping an efficient snow-plowing path. “You’re learning to make the best of your time and try to make everybody happy,” he said. “You learn in a hurry when it snows 21 days straight.” If there was one drawback to his job he would say it’s being on-call. He and Holte switch being on-call every-other weekend. Education Bettenberg worked in dry-wall before going back to school. “I just felt that it wasn’t something I wanted to do [forever],” he said. So he went to St. Cloud Technical College and received his two-year degree in water environment technology. Before starting in Kimball, he passed the Minnesota Depart.ment of Health’s water treatment test and the Minnesota Polution Control Agency waste water treatment test. Home Bettenberg grew up in Sartell and is a 1995 graduate of Sartell High School. He and his immediate family still live in Sartell. Knowing the St. Cloud area has helped him in his job. “I know the stores to run to, and some of the people,” he said. When Bettenberg is not working he enjoys hunting grouse and deer, and fishing.
