Mayor returns from

Siberia, ready for

duties of office

By CHRIS VETTER

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Mayor Arnold Koelpin slides into his cozy office chair in City Hall and begins to look over a small stack of mail. He has to catch up on a lot of work.

Koelpin, who has been in Siberia for the past four months, came home this week. He made his first trip back to city offices Wednesday to renew his duties as mayor.

Much has changed since Koelpin left. The city approved a referendum which allows new recreation facilities to be built; the city manager announced his retirement; expansion and development began along North Highland; and work on the 2001 budget nears completion.

Filling the role of mayor is still a new experience for Koelpin. He learned he was appointed to the post while he was travelling in Nuremberg, Germany, in June. During a short stay back in the United States, he was officially sworn into office in July. However, he left again in early August to teach theology and church history in the former Soviet Union.

"I've been more of an observer up to this point," Koelpin said. "I'm amazed. We have a very efficiently run city government."

Although he was thousands of miles away, Koelpin stayed in touch with city officials on all ongoing projects, both in the public and private sector. He also read The Journal online on a daily basis, which kept him connected to home.

As mayor, Koelpin attends council meetings (although he doesn't have a vote), appoints personnel to city commissions and serves as head of the police department. He also has veto power over council decisions.

Koelpin said his first task is to complete a set of appointments. Many of the commission rosters are finished, but he has a handful of spots remaining to fill.

Next, he must work with police officials and determine if the city should hire another full-time officer this year.

Among his top priorities is to secure funding for an environmental study on Highway 14 from Mankato to New Ulm. He described New Ulm as having a "strong trucking industry" and said the road must be expanded from two to four lanes. He said he plans to put pressure on the Department of Transportation to speed up the timetable for the road expansion.

Koelpin, 69, teaches history at Martin Luther College, where he has worked since moving to New Ulm in 1962. He plans to retire from teaching soon, but will continue being a part of New Ulm.

"What most endeared me to New Ulm is my own background, which is German," Koelpin said. "It's a great city. It's easy to promote because it promotes itself."

Koelpin is a strong tourism advocate. He talks extensively about the city's rich history and ways to display that background to visitors. He has served on the town's transportation committee and the Brown County Historical Society, and was involved in plans to preserve the Hermann Monument.

The city council appointed Koelpin to the post after Mayor Bert Schapekahm died last May. Koelpin will serve through 2002, when the next mayoral election will be held.

"Out of the blue, a number of (councilors) approached me and asked if I would serve," he said.

Koelpin was somewhat surprised to be appointed. The council knew Koelpin had planned his trip abroad and would not be involved in city business for an entire four-month stretch.

"They already knew I had to be away for one semester because I was going to be teaching in Siberia," Koelpin said. "They knew I had made this commitment."

Koelpin is still trying to adjust to being home. Because Siberia is 12 time zones away, Koelpin finds himself wide awake at 3 a.m. His body is used to being up at that time.

The academic community where he stayed was an exciting but impoverished city, Koelpin said.

"I found out the Russians are a very nice people," Koelpin said. "They are survivors. Today, they are subsistence-living."

He showed off his boots, warm and insulated for the frosty winters at the 55th parallel. Koelpin noted that he was in the geographic center of the former U.S.S.R.

Teaching classes in Siberia was a unique experience, he said. Koelpin doesn't speak Russian; his students don't know English. A translator was at every session, explaining Koelpin's teachings to the students.

Back home, Koelpin said he is ready to serve the town. So far, he has enjoyed his run as mayor.

"It has been a great honor, an undeserved honor," he said.