By Mary McFarland Brooks

The 2018 MnDOT state fair booth successfully spotlighted innovative, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions to transportation issues. From connected and automated vehicles to the Northern Lights Express train, drones, living snow fences and hydraulic inspection vehicles, all generated questions and interest from fairgoers.

More than 80 employees volunteered at the MnDOT booth during the 12 days of the fair, distributing 21,000 state highway maps and taking photos of fairgoers against a “green sceen” superimposed on a transportation project. The “green screen” was new to the booth this year and proved to be an ice-breaker and a crowd-pleaser.

By Sandra Schlagel, District 8 public affairs coordinator

District 8 is in the final stretch of a robust nine-mile resurfacing project on Hwy 71 between Willmar and New London, from the junction of Hwy 23 to just north of Hwy 9. In addition to resurfacing, six new left-turn lanes are going in, along with a new right-turn lane and a bypass lane addition, plus the lengthening of an existing right-turn lane. As part of a DNR trail extension from New London to Sibley State Park, a pedestrian underpass was installed below the Hwy 71 and Kandiyohi County Road 40 intersection for future use.

Work was initially scheduled to begin April 16, but the April 14 blizzard delayed the start until April 30. The large project required a detour, which was finally put into place May 14. Then came the summer of rain.

“It’s been a challenging project because of the weather,” said Al Setrum, construction supervisor. “But if everything goes well, it will be open Sept. 12.”

Benefits of the $6.8 million project include a smoother road surface, increased safety and mobility for motorists and increased safety for pedestrians.

“It will be a very good roadway when it’s done; the overall product is turning out well,” said Setrum. “The public has been very patient with the closings and understanding about the weather delays.”

By Kirsten Klein, Metro District communications

Motorists traveling east or west on the highway between Interstate 35W and I-494 used to encounter three separate roadway names despite never leaving their travel lanes. The highway was signed as Hwy 62 west of Fort Snelling, Hwy 55 over the river and then Hwy 110 beginning at Hwy 13.

Renaming the stretches of Hwy 55 between Hiawatha Avenue and Hwy 13 and Hwy 110 between Hwy 13 and I-494 to Hwy 62 should lessen the confusion for people traveling through the area, therefore making it one route and one number.

The new signing was put in place in early August. Residents and businesses that live along this route where the name change took place, will have to change their address. The city will notify the residents when to use their address. They will want to notify their utility providers, insurance company, Driver and Vehicle Services, cell phone carrier, cable carrier, bank(s), voter registration, schools attended by anyone in household, newspapers, magazines and other subscriber services, of their change of address.

For more information about this signing project visit the Hwy 62 renaming website.

Donna Koren, Operations Division, and Tim Mike, District 1 maintenance, are eligible for the vacation donation program. 

Koren has worked for MnDOT for six years and has been a state employee for 22 years.

She was diagnosed with a recurrence of high-grade invasive ductal carcinoma Aug. 1. Her initial onset of breast cancer was diagnosed in August 2015. At that time, she underwent radiation therapy, surgery, and has been on hormonal therapy. Unfortunately, she now has metastatic disease on the T10 vertebrae. She completed another run of radiation therapy by mid-August, and is undergoing several types of additional treatment. While the cancer is Stage IV, she seems to responding well to these initial treatments.

Mike has worked in District 1 roadway maintenance for five years.

While trying to help out a friend in need of a kidney donation; it was discovered that Mike had a rare form of appendix cancer. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy combined. However, he has had a complicated course since surgery. He has been hospitalized twice since, and is currently receiving nutrition via IV.

Also eligible for the vacation donation program are MnDOT employees Tom Brown, transportation generalist in District 2;  Donald Obernolte, Office of Environmental Stewardship; Patty Johnson, District 3 maintenance; Kyle Goosman, District 8 transportation generalist senior; Racheal Glancy, Project Delivery Division and Melissa Janzen, Office of Land Management.

To donate vacation hours, go to the Employee Self Service Web site and click “Other Payroll” and then “Leave Donations.” The site also allows employees to view a list of all state employees eligible for the program and to enroll as a recipient.

By Judy Jacobs, Office of Organizational Planning and Management

Twenty-one WIG 2.0 teams across the state have received recognition as Shout Out! Final Round winners. These winners have been selected from 34 nominees for their innovation and potential for high impact to customers.  

WIG 2.0 coaches and local leaders nominated teams they worked with for consideration of this final Shout Out! award. Nominations were reviewed by WIG 2.0 champions, who looked for teams making great strides in advancing equity and improving intentional customer engagement within the agency and with external customers.
 
The Shout Out! friendly competition program originated in June 2017 as a way to highlight WIG team successes.    

During WIG 2.0, there were a total of 50 Shout Out! winners from Rounds 1- 3, representing WIG teams from across the state. For their hard work and accomplishments each team selected a work resource of their choice. 

Shout Out! Final Round winning teams:

• Bridge - State Aid Bridge website enhancement to improve customer experience
• Chief Counsel - Tribal Lands Program training
• Civil Rights - Title VI Program scorecard development and implementation
• Communications - Improved products and services to be more customer friendly
• Construction and Innovative Contracting - Clarify and document our processes
• District 1 - Improved CorrFlow communications to ensure timely responses
• District 1 - Improving and promoting vendor relationships with MnDOT
• District 3 - MnDOT - We do more than just plow roads! Open house planning and implementation
• District 3 - Improve public engagement and outreach with customers and stakeholders
• District 6 - Reduce business expense entry forms
• District 6 - Engaging D6 teams (DLT)
• District 6 - Mower County Fair Community presence and recruitment
• District 7 - Identify needs and gaps between us and the supervisors we support
• District 7 - Eliminate lost time injury accidents
• Environmental Stewardship - TGB and Vet Business Development
• Land Management - Right of Way training
• Maintenance - MDSS/AVL hands-on skills training
• Metro – RTMC - 511 outreach and customer survey
• Public Engagement and Constituent Services - Improve customer relationship management response times
• Public Engagement and Constituent Services - Listening and lifting up: elevating public feedback with care
• Statewide Radio Communications - Update tower maintenance safety and control program

In addition to the Shout Out! Final Round winners, the District 1 Human Resources team was selected as a “Champion’s Choice” for their efforts in community outreach. 

The Shout Out! Final Round winners will be featured in a Final WIG 2.0 Shout Out! Winners presentation.  Employees are encouraged to watch the presentation to learn more about success stories and lessons learned from across the state. 

“MnDOT leadership felt it was important to recognize the hard work and commitment put forth by employees during WIG 2.0 through the Shout Out! program,” said Eric Davis, chief of staff and WIG 2.0 co-champion for the Advancing Equity priority. “Many innovative sub-WIGS have already been implemented, helping MnDOT meet the needs of the diverse population we serve.”

“We want to thank the WIG teams across the agency for their dedication and efforts towards advancing equity and improving engagement and, ultimately, trust with MnDOT’s customers,” said Sue Mulvihill, deputy commissioner, chief engineer and WIG 2.0 champion. “It’s exciting to see the changes to the agency that WIG teams are making as they put their sub-WIGS back into the whirlwind in new and creative ways.”

By Rich Kemp

The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for supporting their employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve. The award was presented to MnDOT during a ceremony Aug. 24 in Washington, D.C.

MnDOT was nominated by TJ Melcher, District 2 public engagement, who is a captain in the Minnesota Army National Guard.

“Thankfully, the leaders at MnDOT are very supportive of military service,” said Melcher. “They have never made me feel as though my absence for military duty was a liability on them. And what really made this nomination stand out, was the supportive culture of all of MnDOT’s employees. I have worked in a couple of districts and my experience has always been the same. Our people are thoughtful, heartfelt and amazing.”

Nominations must come from a Guard or Reserve member who is employed by the organization they are nominating, or from a family member. The award was created to publicly recognize employers who provide exceptional support to their Guard and Reserve employees. It is the highest in a series of employer recognition awards given by the Department of Defense.

Melcher said that in addition to the support he received from his leaders, District 2 employees helped his family while he was deployed.

“They gathered donations to purchase school supplies for my children,” he said. “Those donations helped alleviate the anxiety of trying to figure out how to get each of the children prepared for their school year.”

In 2018, 15 recipients were selected from more than 2,350 nominations received from Guardsman and Reservists highlighting how their civilian employers went far beyond what the federal law requires to support them. The Freedom Award began in 1996 to draw attention for support from the employers.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be receiving the Freedom Award,” said Eric Davis, chief of staff.  Captain Melcher is a great example of the kind of employee we are so fortunate to have at MnDOT.”

“We are proud of the nearly 500 veterans and employees actively serving as a member of the Guard and Reserve. These men and women continue to serve the transportation needs of Minnesota after serving our nation. As a military reservist myself, I can testify to that support and I want to take this opportunity to add my thanks to the men and women at MnDOT,” Davis said.

For more information about the award and this year’s recipients, check out the ESGR website.