Lynn Niggemann has spent most of her career working in public service, first for UW-Stout, then the city of Menomonie and now the village of Colfax. But now, Niggemann is preparing to run for public office for the first time.
The Dunn County Board of Supervisors in April appointed Niggemann as county treasurer, and she begins May 28. She replaces Sifia Jevne, who resigned to take another position with Dunn County.
Niggemann is finishing up as the village administrator/clerk/treasurer in Colfax, a position she has held since 2014.
“With the announcement that I am taking the county position, so many residents have said they don’t want me to leave,” Niggemann said. “That has been very heartwarming.”
Niggemann comes well prepared for the county position; besides her nearly decade working for Colfax, she was the treasurer/comptroller for the city of Menomonie for over seven years and worked in financial services at UW-Stout before that. She has two undergraduate degrees: one from UW-Stout in Business Administration and Management, and the other from UW-Eau Claire in Accounting.
Niggemann credits her now mother-in-law, Diane Niggemann, with introducing her to the concept of public service.
“My mother-in-law worked for Taylor County and opened my eyes to government and public service,” Niggemann said. “She is the one who encouraged me to go on to school and continue my education.”
Government work means interacting with the public, Niggemann said.
“I always listen to what the public has to say and what the concerns are,” she said. “If I don’t have the immediate answer, I’ll research the topic” before responding. “I tend to be an over-analyzer and get all the facts before I make a response.”
Niggemann said a priority is to ensure that the county works as cooperatively as possible with the other local governments in Dunn County.
“Incorporating a better relationship between the municipalities and the county is one of my goals,” she said. “When I was at the city of Menomonie, I didn’t feel the relationship was very good. Now, that relationship has grown, and I hope that continues.”
The county will be in better shape, Niggemann said, “if we have all the municipalities engaged in what we are doing and are effectively involving them in the process.”
Now Niggemann is preparing to run the first political campaign in her life. The county treasurer position is an elective position, along with the county clerk, sheriff, clerk of court, district attorney and register of deeds. This means circulating nomination papers, so her name appears on the August primary ballot – if there are more than two candidates – or the November general election ballot.
Niggemann said she intends to start circulating her papers shortly. “Switching jobs means I have to finish all these tasks and there is a lot of reporting to be done,” she said.
April 15 was the first day that papers can be circulated, and candidates have until June 1 to submit them. The number of required signatures varies.
More information on running for public office can be found on the Dunn County Clerk’s website: https://www.co.dunn.wi.us/publicoffice.
