Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Moorhead residents will spend seven weeks exploring Moorhead’s agencies and their functions at the first Citizens Government Academy. (Photo/Nancy Hanson)

Two dozen Moorhead residents will get to take a deep dive into the workings of Moorhead’s city government in March as participants in the city’s inaugural Citizens Government Academy.

Assistant city manager Mike Rietz has put seven weeks of classes together for them to get a glimpse of the workings at City Hall. Commencing on Tuesday, March 7, the sessions cover the city’s major agencies, including the police and city prosecutor’s office; the fire department; the wastewater treatment plan; the public works department and its sustainability initiative; the community development director and city engineer; and Parks and Recreation. Mayor Shelly Carlson and city manager Dan Mahli will address the first session with an overview of the city’s governance and policy making by the city council.

“Programs like this are fairly common in the Twin Cities,” Rietz says. He heard about the programs at the League of Minnesota Cities, then modeled Moorhead’s inaugural program on the successful Citizens Police Academy.

“We were blown away by the response,” he says. The 24 spots in the class were filled within eight hours of the program’s announcement last Monday; to date, more than 50 have registered their interest. Only one series is planned this year, however, to respect department heads’ time.

“I certainly didn’t expect it to fill up on the first day,” Rietz admits. “Actually, I was concerned about the short time frame to find participants. The degree of interest is raising the excitement level for everybody involved.”

As the city’s assistant manager, Rietz focuses on managing the inner workings of the city’s departments, while city manager Dan Mahli handles the more public aspects. A Wisconsin native with degrees in the law and public administration, Rietz has held administrative positions in several cities in southeastern Minnesota, Missouri and Texas. He served as Barnesville’s city administrator for 12 years until being named to his present position in 2021.