Brook resident, Kyle D. Conrad, has filed for re-election to the office of Newton County Commissioner, District 1, on the Republican ticket for the upcoming May 5th Primary Election. Conrad has served as commissioner since 2013.
A lifelong resident of Brook, Conrad offers several years of experience in service to his home county in various capacities. He’s been a firefighter with the Brook-Iroquois Township Volunteer Fire Department since 1983 and has been fire chief for the past 20 years. He was a founding member and first president of the current Newton County Historical Society, president of the Brook-Iroquois-Washington Preservation Committee, and is president of the Riverside Cemetery Association at Brook. In addition to finishing his second term as county commissioner, he served as Clerk of the Newton Circuit and Superior Courts from 1991 through 2000 and still holds the record as the youngest clerk in Indiana history.
Since being elected in 2012, Conrad has emphasized his concern for public safety, updating county buildings and facilities, and better communications among county offices and citizens. In his first year as commissioner he orchestrated commissioner meetings being held in the various communities in the county, taking government to the people.
Two of his biggest accomplishments include the creation of a 911 board that oversees the 911 dispatch operation for the county and the partnering with George Ade Memorial Healthcare to collect additional Medicaid reimbursements.
“In just a short period of time, our 911 dispatch operation has shown tremendous improvement under the leadership of this new board” says Conrad. “Our citizens and first responders are being better served under the new 911 leadership”.
The Medicaid reimbursements are split evenly between the operator of the county owned nursing home and the county, with the county portion being set aside to maintain the nursing home building and other healthcare related expenses, such as the future purchase of new ambulances.
“We are now generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in new money that have strict guidelines on their usage” Conrad added. “The future maintenance of our nursing home building and the purchase of new ambulances should no longer be a burden on our tax or landfill tipping fee monies.”
After graduating from South Newton, Conrad chose to remain in Newton County to raise his family. He is married to the former Gail Rheude of Goodland and has four children. His son, Jake, is a Junior at Indiana University-Bloomington, son Drew is a senior at South Newton, and twin daughters, Kara and Lea, are sophomores at South Newton.
“If re-elected I will continue to vote my conscience on all matters that come before the commissioners and do what I believe is in the best long term interest of the county I have called home my entire life,” Conrad concluded.
94.1 WGFA
