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St. Louis County Commissioner Paul McDonald received a 2024 Association of Minnesota Counties’ (AMC) President’s Award for years of dedicated service and exemplary leadership in county government. AMC President Neal Gaalswyk (Cass County Commissioner) selected McDonald for this honor.
The prestigious President’s Award is presented to an individual who has a deep history of public service to their community and to their county.
McDonald has served on numerous AMC committees and task forces, the National Association of Counties (NACo) Public Lands Steering Committee –serving as the Outdoor Recreation Subcommittee Vice-Chair – and was recently selected to participate in NACo’s “Reaching Rural Initiative” focused on substance abuse and opioid use prevention strategies in rural areas.
Last year, McDonald cochaired AMC’s workgroup on tax forfeiture and was a constant presence at the Capitol working to garner support for legislation that brought Minnesota’s law into compliance with the Supreme Court’s Tyler versus Hennepin verdict – and most importantly – set aside $109 million to ensure that counties did not bear the cost of the lawsuits spawned by the ruling.
“Paul is a strategic thinker, moving through his role as commissioner with a game plan and a thorough knowledge of important rules and regulations,” Gaalswyk said. “It’s likely something he learned as renowned athlete, coach, and official and we’re lucky to have him gracing our membership with his skills and attention, making us stronger together as a team.”
This recipients of this award are kept secret, but the recipient’s families are notified ahead of time and are often on-hand to surprise the recipient at the awards ceremony.
AMC is a voluntary statewide organization that assists the state’s 87 counties in providing effective county governance to the people of Minnesota. The association works closely with the legislative and administrative branches of government in seeing that legislation and policies favorable to counties are enacted. In addition, the association provides educational programs, training, research and communications for county officials.
