Open house planned for Bev Nordby on Nov. 13
Published 3:00 pm Sunday, November 8, 2015
Bev Nordby and Justin Hanson stand where the Cedar River and Dobbins Creek converge on Wednesday. Nordby will retire Nov. 13 as the Mower County Soil and Water Conservation District’s manager and the Cedar River Watershed District administrator. Hanson has been hired to replace her. Jason Schoonover/jason.schoonover@austindailyherald.com
Austin will say goodbye Nov. 13 to the woman who’s led the Soil and Water Conservation District and Cedar River Watershed District for several years.
An open house is planned for Bev Nordby from 1 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the Hormel Historic Home.
Nordby started as a part-time bookkeeper with the SWCD and became district manager in 1989. She is also the CRWD’s administrator.
“It’s been a wonderful job,” she said. “I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate the work that the staff has done and the board that I work for has just been so supportive, but we work hard to get a lot of things done.”
Nordby, 59, has led the office through a myriad of changes, and Justin Hanson, 38, who’s worked as a resource specialist in the office since 2004, has been hired to replace Nordby.
After her retirement, Nordby will move to Watab Township.
After her husband, Dave, retired after working for Austin Utilities, the couple moved to Watab Township in Benton County near St. Cloud to be closer to their children, Lee, 31, Kelly, 36, and Scott, 38, along with the couple’s four granddaughters.
Nordby has rented an Austin apartment to keep working.
“I just want to spend more time with my family and my grandkids,” she said.
Nordby admits she doesn’t like sitting still, which could make retirement a challenge. However, she plans to stay busy. Nordby is already an avid gardener and plans to become a master gardener.
“I want to be outside all the time,” she said.
She grows several varieties of vegetables — even kinds she doesn’t like to give away — and keeps several flower beds. She loves growing perennials and constantly moves things and tries different things, partially to avoid spending more money on additional flowers, she jokes.
She also enjoys reading, and she and Dave plan to travel.
The couple also has a lake cabin in northern Minnesota, where they enjoy fishing, hiking and being on the lake with the grandchildren.
Nordby could stay involved. She served on Lansing Township Board for several years, and she may get involved in Watab Township, which is about 9 miles north of St. Cloud.
