WORTHINGTON — Nobles County Auditor/Treasurer Joyce Jacobs is set to retire on Dec. 31, ending a career of over 30 years in the government center.
Her first position with the county began in May 1988 as the 4-H program coordinator with University of Minnesota Extension. At that time, recycling was just beginning, and Jacobs taught county residents how to recycle, while also doing a lot of work with radon education.
Jacobs worked with Extension for over 17 years, until U of M Extension did a major reorganization with cuts in staffing. After that, she took a position as district director with Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest.
She served an 18-county area in southwest Minnesota for three years, and the traveling was extensive. So, when the opportunity arose for an executive director position with the Southwest Chapter of the American Red Cross that covered just five counties, Jacobs applied for and served in that role for five years.
“It was interesting because at that point, Dan Anderson was the emergency manager for Nobles County and he was also on my Red Cross board,” Jacobs said. “So I got to know Dan, got to know a little bit about emergency management, and so eventually Dan had left the county and the position became open.”
After taking some online courses, Jacobs found her way back to the county in 2012 as the emergency manager, a role she stayed in for six years before deciding to run for the auditor/treasurer position.
Serving the residents of Nobles County has really been an honor for me.
Joyce Jacobs
“I actually was very interested in elections,” she said. “I had served as an election judge for the City of Rushmore, and so was exposed to that. When that opportunity came along, I decided to give it a shot and run for that position and was fortunate to be elected by the residents of Nobles County, and so here I am, and we’re now seven years later.”
Jacobs became auditor/treasurer in January 2019, and a lot has changed in the world of elections since then.
“When I started, only a handful of precincts used mail ballots but as it became harder to staff polling places, a few more precincts changed to mail ballots and then when COVID hit, more precincts made the move to mail ballots,” Jacobs said. “We now have 17 of the 20 townships and five of our 11 cities using mail ballots.”
Jacobs said the climate around elections has really changed as well, so they work hard to educate the public on how elections work and to be as transparent as possible.
“Before the 2024 elections, I got a grant to purchase cameras, viewing screens and recording equipment so that if voters wanted to watch us process ballots, they could,” she said. “Another big change was the huge increase in absentee voting which was really utilized in 2020 due to COVID, but seems to still be a popular choice as many voters appreciate the convenience of early voting.”
The biggest thing Jacobs said she will miss about her job is working with her staff and serving the residents of Nobles County.
“I will miss the excitement of being with my staff on election day,” she added. “It is a lot of work, but also very rewarding to see everything come together at the end of the night. We might all be exhausted, but there are still lots of smiles at the end of the night when the Secretary of State’s website shows that Nobles County is at 100% reported.”
Though one thing Jacobs won’t miss in retirement is driving on bad roads in the morning to get to work.
“That will be one of the things that I’ll appreciate — not having to go out in the harsh winter conditions,” she said. “But I am excited to have more time to do a lot of the projects that I’ve kind of been putting off at home. I’m looking forward to doing some more gardening. I have been collecting fabrics, so hopefully I’ll be doing some quilting.
“And of course, I’m pretty involved as far as a volunteer with our church and Rushmore Booster Club, and so I know I’ll do some volunteering as well,” she added. “And also just spending more time with my daughters.”
Jacobs and her husband Randy have two daughters who both work at South Dakota State University. Sarah is the education coordinator for the South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum and Laura is an academic counselor and events coordinator for the College of Nursing Student Services.
As a 1982 SDSU graduate herself, Jacobs said her family continues to be big Jackrabbit fans.
“I feel very connected to the Brookings community,” she said. “And now, of course, with the girls both in Brookings, we make a lot of trips to Brookings.”
Jacobs hopes to do a little traveling in retirement as well, despite her husband not being the biggest traveler. She also wants to spend time with her family and friends who are already retired.
“And of course puzzling too,” she added. “My collection has grown as I am always trying out puzzles to use for the puzzle tournament that I organize for the Rushmore Booster Club.”
Chloe Farnsworth / The Globe
Cathy Roos, Jacobs chief deputy for over six years, will be appointed to the position and begin her duties starting with the new year.
“I might be a little biased, but I think anyone who has worked with Cathy will agree that she is the most qualified and we are lucky to have her in this role,” Jacobs said. “Cathy and I have worked well together and we have both embraced the challenge of rebuilding our team after our department had four long-term employees retire.
“I am happy to say that we are in a really good place and I am confident that our team is ready for me to retire and Cathy is more than ready to lead,” Jacobs added. “I know she will do a great job and wish her and the rest of the team the very best.”
Jacobs said she feels blessed to have had some wonderful opportunities in the many different roles she served, and to work with a lot of amazing people.
“Serving the residents of Nobles County has really been an honor for me,” she said. “I know so many people and hopefully when I walk out the door, those relationships are always going to be there.”