A KINDER, GENTLER PLANNING AND ZONING

Crow Wing County District Two Commissioner Paul Thiede shared some positive news with the rest of the board and members of the Planning and Zoning Department this week. Thiede said a contractor friend of his had gone to the department recently with the usual trepidation. The contractor of 20 years said he'd been there before and always felt there was an adversarial relationship in the department. Thiede said the contractor was pleasantly surprised this time, that he went through the process, got the help he needed, made the application and everything went smoothly. Thiede said there's been a cultural change in the department over the past year and he's happy to see it.