Frank Krahn and his grandson, Jed Rice, are at very different points in life. Krahn retired from a career as the Mayo Clinic’s director of operational risk management in 2019 and is now deputy clerk for Bennington Township in Mower County. Rice graduated from high school in 2020 and is now working as a temporary employee for the Mower County public works department. Though separated by a generation, Krahn and Rice both decided to further their careers through Minnesota LTAP’s Roads Scholar program. Both are currently working to earn their Maintenance Operations and Technical Certificate.
What made you decide to participate in the Roads Scholar program?
Krahn: When you retire, you need something else to do. I’ve always been a strong supporter of our local township government and helped out wherever is needed. And last spring they said, “You know, we could use somebody to check roads…and could somebody help do our signs?”
Rice: With Mower County, when I was little, I always wanted to work for them…I’ve always had the dream of heavy equipment operation and the dream of working for a construction company or even the county.
Krahn: [Jed] has been doing it since he was four. We owned our own Caterpillar and other equipment. He was always on grandpa’s lap, learning how to make it operate.
What have you learned from the Roads Scholar program that surprised you?
Rice: The more I’ve been working [with Mower County], I’ve realized there’s a lot more work that goes into all these projects than I thought. And then, taking the courses, it makes me realize that there is a lot more thinking and processing of what the situations would be and the future that you have to predict.
What do you think other people could learn from your careers?
Krahn: I think what you try to teach is that you have to do things that service your community. How do you do that? You participate in local government, you take care of neighbors, you take care of family, but what you want to pass down to [the next generation] is this idea that, “We’re the teachers, we’re the inspiration for that next generation coming up.”
Rice: I always try and better myself—get more knowledge and a better chance of achieving the goal that I want. When it gets difficult, I try my hardest not to give up on it and keep myself going to achieve the dream I want.
What are your plans for the future?
Krahn: I think when I held my retirement party, one of the secretaries, she said, “He’s not retiring, he’s just disappeared from here, but he can’t sit still.” I think for me it’s always continuous learning and the opportunity to teach others.
Rice: I will continue with the Roads Scholar, for sure, so I can continue learning more that I didn’t know before. And hopefully go forward with the county or even other construction companies if I have the opportunity.
—Sophia Koch, MnLTAP freelancer