CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Steve AmRhein called the meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence were observed.
All board members were present except Jason Barnhorst. Also present were CEO Brett Abplanalp, Matt Raver, and Suzanne Parmer, who participated virtually.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Brian Scheidler moved to approve the agenda as presented. Dale Wernke seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously.
SAFETY MOMENT AND COOL MOMENT
A safety moment was presented by Abplanalp, who reviewed winter weather preparedness and cold-weather safety precautions.
For the cool moment, Abplanalp shared a positive customer testimonial about the personal customer service provided by PowerStream Fiber. It was also mentioned that Barnhorst was participating in Farmers Feeding the Flock by donating a section of his farm partnership.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Open and closed action items, ax charges, check register, and safety Reports were reviewed.
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES
Wernke moved to approve the minutes of the Jan. 28, 2026, board meeting. Scheidler seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously.
OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC OVERSIGHT
Abplanalp provided updates on operations, key performance metrics, fiber expansion, and metering initiatives. A motion related to the Construction Work Plan (CWP) and PowerStream Fiber dashboards was made by Wernke, seconded by Scheidler, and carried unanimously. The 2025 third-and fourth-quarter risk management reports were reviewed. The board also reviewed a report prepared by Charles River Associates.
FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT
Raver presented the January 2026 financial report to the board.
GOVERNING DOCUMENT APPROVAL
The board continued its annual review of the Cooperative’s Bylaws, and redlined drafts were presented.
The board then began to discuss any required changes to the bylaws and Policy 4-3: Capital Credits with loads larger than 50MW. All changes were tabled for a future meeting.
GOVERNANCE
Nominating Committee candidates were presented as follows: Courtney Crowe and Erin Arnold for District 1, and Deric Hudson for District 5. Carl Riedeman, seconded by Wernke, made a motion, and the motion carried unanimously. Director training updates were provided.
AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS/BOARD COMMITTEES
Updates were provided for Hometown Energy (Scheidler) and IEC (AmRhein).
ADJOURNMENT
Scheidler moved to adjourn the meeting. Riedeman seconded the motion, and the motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:57 p.m. The board then entered executive session.
The board approved, via electronic vote, the Nominating Committee’s recommended candidates for District 2, Chad Evans and Phil Bennett, for placement on the election ballot.
