The Barron County Board officially appointed Barron County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Jason Hagen as interim sheriff at its regular meeting on Monday, June 17.

Hagen has been heading the department since June 1, following the retirement of Chris Fitzgerald.

As of press time on Tuesday, Gov. Tony Evers had not yet named Fitzgerald’s successor, nor had the governor’s office responded to the News-Shield’s records request of the names of the three applicants for the job. Hagen is not among those applicants, but sheriff’s department patrol sergeant Darren Hodek is.

• Barron County lakes technician Pat Brown briefed the board on the prospect of the parcels on the Polk County side of Staples Lake to join its lake protection district. A public hearing on the matter is Wednesday, June 18, at 6 p.m. at the Barron County Government Center.

• Westcap associate director Tim Mather gave a presentation on the community action agency’s programs in its seven-county area, including Barron County.

• The board took no action on a new evidence locker for the sheriff’s department, awaiting more information for a vendor.

• County administrator Jeff French praised sheriff’s deputy Randy Cook Jr. for his leadership in alleviating traffic issues at the Barron County Dairy Breakfast along Hwy. 25 near Hillsdale on June 7.

Besides those few items, the agenda was light, and French indicated that there might be enough of a lull in county board business to cancel its July meeting.