Board will meet at Ely City Hall on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
St. Louis County commissioners have chosen commissioner Mike Jugovich to serve as county board chair for 2026, and commissioner Keith Musolf as vice chair.
The board also voted to appoint the Ely Echo as the county’s official newspaper for county board proceeding as well as the second publication of the financial statement and both publications of the delinquent real estate tax list.
“We are proud to be back as an official publication for county board proceedings for St. Louis County,” said Ely Echo publisher Nick Wognum. “We also look forward to publishing several other public notices for the county as well during 2026.”
The Ely Echo is currently the official newspaper for the City of Ely, the Ely School District, the Town of Morse, the City of Winton and the Town of Fall Lake.
“This is our 55th year of printing the Ely Echo and we know how important public notices are for our readers,” said Wognum.
The county board will meet at the Ely City Hall on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. for public comment and the regular meeting starting at 10 a.m.
Jugovich has been on the county board since 2017 and previously served as board chair twice, during the consecutive years of 2020-21. He represents the seventh district, which covers the southwestern portion of the county from Floodwood up to Hibbing and Chisholm.
Musolf represents the fifth district, which includes Hermantown, Proctor, Rice Lake and several townships surrounding Duluth. He joined the board after winning a special election in 2019 and has since been re-elected twice, most recently in 2024.
Jugovich thanked commissioners for entrusting him with the role, and in particular thanked commissioner Annie Harala for her leadership as board chair in 2025.
“This is going to be a challenging year, but I am confident we will be able to work together and with our state and federal partners to best serve our residents,” said Jugovich. “We will be actively working to deliver needed services but know we must do our best to minimize cost impacts to taxpayers.”
As the new board chair, Jugovich assigned commissioners to chair the following standing committees of the Board: Health and Human Services - Patrick Boyle Public Works and Transportation - Keith Musolf Finance and Budget - Annie Harala Central Management and Intergovernmental Relations - Paul McDonald Public Safety and Corrections - Ashley Grimm Environment and Natural Resources - Keith Nelson Commissioners also approved their meeting schedule for 2026. Consistent with the board’s ongoing efforts to provide easier access to meetings for all citizens of St. Louis County, more than half of the board’s meetings this year will be held in locations around the county, outside of the county seat in Duluth.
Board meetings will be livestreamed on the County’s Facebook page when at locations that are equipped with the necessary technology to do so.
All other meetings will be recorded and posted later on the county’s YouTube channel, as well as aired on Public Access Cable Television. The 2026 schedule is posted on the county website at stlouiscountymn.gov.
St. Louis County spans 7,000 square miles and is home to 200,000 people. The county is divided into seven districts, with each commissioner representing approximately 28,500 people.
For more information about St. Louis County and its board of commissioners, call (218) 726-2450 or visit stlouiscountymn.gov.
