Holiday workers keep the lights on
NEW ULM — For many, the holidays mean time with family and a respite from work, but not everyone can take time off. Some individuals continue to work to ensure the rest of us have a happy holiday.
Those working over holidays include emergency staff, medical personnel and anyone else whose job it is to keep the lights running.
At New Ulm Public Utilities, staff work over the holidays to keep the lights running. New Ulm’s power plant operates 24 hours a day throughout the year. Utility Director Kris Manderfeld said the power plant always has two people on staff to monitor the system in eight-hour shifts. The schedule is planned out well in advance.
For powerplant staff, working over the holidays is not much different from a normal day. Their daily tasks are the same. They monitor the steam turbines and generators.
Plant Operator Charlie Schofield will be working shifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Schofield said he did not anticipate it would be too busy over the holidays. He said Mondays can be busy because it is usually the start of the work week, but because this Monday is Christmas, it should be quiet.
Boiler Operator Janeen Allen will also work the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day shifts.
“Somebody has to be here,” she said. “We all take our turns.”
Allen also did not anticipate anything major happening over the holiday. She believed operations would run similar to any Sunday and Monday. She said they would simply make sure all the necessary equipment was running.
In the event there is a problem with one or more utilities, power plant staff services as the dispatchers, calling in the necessary department heads to fix the problem.
Many of the various department heads also work over the holiday. Water, wastewater and gas departments all require a daily maintenance check to make sure everything is in working order.
Manderfeld said the holidays are not necessarily more or less busy than other days, but problems can always pop up. A power failure somewhere in the city is always possible. A severe winter storm could knock over powerlines or freezing rain could damage infrastructure. Though unlikely this year, a cold snap could cause a waterline to burst.
It is also possible the power plant could be asked to turn on its diesel engines. Usually, New Ulm does not run the plant’s diesel engines unless requested by Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). However, last year the New Ulm plant was asked to turn on this generator over Christmas.
Plant supervisor Glen Hillesheim remembered that on Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 of 2022, MISO requested the New Ulm power plant turn on the quick-start diesel engines. Minnesota was experiencing a major cold snap last year and the extra energy was needed to keep the holiday season warm.
For non-power-related emergencies, local law enforcement is also on call and fully staffed during the holidays. New Ulm Police Commander Dean Barstad said the department staffing schedule is laid out months, even years ahead of schedule.
“We’re already into 2025. We deal with time off requests as they come so people can spend time with family,” Barstad said.
“Lots of times, staff doesn’t take off during holidays because the law enforcement benefit services union negotiates time and a half pay on holidays,” he added.
“We don’t staff any heavier on holidays. They are usually a bit quieter. Lots of businesses are closed. Fewer people are moving around. They’re spending time with family, particularly on Thanksgiving and Christmas,” he said.
He said New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day could be different.
“New Year’s draws people downtown, but not as much as years past,” said Barstad.
“All our officers are on call. If we need more people for events we may face, we’ll reach out to staff like we normally do,” he added.
Brown County Sheriff Jason Seidl said staffing levels remain the same during holidays as at other times of the year.
“We still run dispatch, the jail has correctional offices, deputies patrol the county and we have support staff,” said Seidl.
“We rotate work schedules. Sometimes holidays are busy. Sometimes they are not. Life drives our business. If people are having a bad day, we get a call for service. It varies,” Seidl added.
“We have staff that give up their holidays to work so people get services if they call 911, need to be booked into jail, or need services in the county,” he said.
No matter the time of year, people get sick or injured and hospital staff needs to be available.
New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC) has multiple 24-hour services including ER, surgery, birth center and inpatient hospital units.
NUMC Director Toby Freier said he is grateful for all staff who are available to patients no matter if it’s a holiday, weekend or the middle of a blizzard. In a rural hospital, the burden of a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation is greater because of the smaller team available.
Since December is cold and full season, the NUMC is already busy with high volumes of respiratory illness, but that is normal this time of year. The surgery department is also very busy. Freier said many patients choose to have elective procedures done before New Year’s.
Overall, Freier said this year has been easier on staff because of the mild start to winter. Over 50% of employees at NUMC live outside of New Ulm. He said it was a “blessing” that staff did not need to commute on icy roads or through a blizzard.
“We have many staff and doctors who work nearly every other weekend or holiday which is a great sacrifice,” Freier said. “There are a few staff been working the holiday rotation for 50 years, here which shows their commitment to our community.”