Iron River rep resigns from Bayfield County Board; New member appointed

Bayfield County Board member Rich Nemitz has resigned.

In his letter of resignation, Nemitz said he is stepping down from all elected appointed positions due to medical reasons.

The district nine representative for the county board resides in Iron River and also serves on the town board of Iron River and the Iron River Library Board.

To fill his position on Aug. 27, Board chairman Dennis Pocernich nominated Jeffrey Holte, who also serves on the library board. The board approved his nomination and he was sworn in.

According to information provided at the meeting, Holte has four decades of experience as an educator and administrator across the globe. He graduated from UW River Falls and is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions.

Prior to resigning, Nemitz voted against the county board filling a seat on the Iron River Library board. Ultimately the board voted to appoint member Jan Lee to the library board.

In his resignation letter, Nemitz went on to say that “truth be told, from the day I was sworn in as Bayfield County Supervisor, I have felt that existing bias and prejudices within certain segments of the county have made it so I could not effectively and fairly represent District 9/Iron River anyway, so at this time this is overall probably for the best for all.”