County license office multi-faceted

Changes, regulations can cause frustration for customers, employees

Editor’s note: This article is part of a series explaining each department that makes up Kittson County government. One major function of newspapers is to inform the general public of not only its government’s actions, but also how local government functions.

By Anna Jauhola
While the majority of Kittson County Driver’s License and Motor Vehicle department work is now digital, that doesn’t eliminate the amount of work they do. Cheryl Engstrom and Cassie Olson are the license service specialists at the Kittson County Courthouse.
Their list of day-to-day operations is a long one. From handling driver’s licenses with the ever-changing regulations, to proctoring written driver’s tests, to registering all manner of vehicles, this two-person office is always busy.
“We also do title transfers, daily registration for vehicles, duplicate titles, dealership work, inventory,” Engstrom said, noting they order their own license plates for customers. “We have to make sure everything is accounted for. It needs to be checked daily, because anything that happens to be missing, it is our responsibility.”
They also handle their own financial operations and reconcile that daily, issue handicapped stickers and help farmers with 2290 forms for heavy highway vehicle use tax.
The Driver’s License and Motor Vehicle office is an odd duck – Engstrom and Olson are county employees, but the office is overseen by the state. Most offices are set up that way throughout Minnesota, but there are few city-owned, and some are private. For example, Engstrom said the office in Roseau is operated through a private contract with the state.
In recent years, there has been some turnover in the Driver’s License office, which has led to signs on the front doors of the courthouse and on the county’s website asking the public to call ahead. This will ensure someone is in the office before customers visit. Typically they are available 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Engstrom and Olson agree the easiest part of their jobs is renewing license plate tabs. When residents renew their tabs with the local office, the filing fee stays in Kittson County, whether it’s mailed to Hallock or customers pay at the counter. If it’s sent to the state, using the envelope provided in the mail, that money goes to the state. The money staying in Kittson County goes toward operating the local office.
The most challenging or complicated part of their jobs is issuing Real IDs – the documentation requirements alone are convoluted. For example, the slightest discrepancy in name spelling between documents can cause customers and employees frustration.
“I had a lady in her 80s come in. Her middle name was spelled L-Y-N on her birth certificate. On her driver’s license it was L-Y-N-N, and on her marriage license,” Engstrom said. “To get the Real ID or the Enhanced Driver’s License, she had to have one or the other corrected.”
Although this customer had been married 50 years, and the documentation had always worked, the new rules and regulations for Real IDs and Enhanced Driver’s Licenses had different requirements.
Engstrom had a similar experience herself. When she was divorced, she threw out her marriage license thinking, “What do I need this for?” She was divorced for 10 years before the state required proof of name change even if a divorce occurred. So she had to go to the Recorder’s Office and purchase her marriage license.
Customers can get information on the required documents from the local office in person or by phone, or from the state website. Olson noted they cannot accept laminated Social Security cards any more either.
“It’s frustrating, and there’s a few customers where it becomes a personal mission to get them their Enhanced or Real ID. I promise you, I want this just as bad as you do at this point,” Olson said. “We’re just trying to help, but it is frustrating.”
On the opposite end, the duo thoroughly enjoys driver’s license testing days. Since COVID, Engstrom has proctored the written driver’s license exams in the Hallock office.
“Having a young kid that actually passes their written test, that’s so fun to be a part of,” Engstrom said.
Customers come into the office and take the written test on a designated computer near Engstrom’s station. She watches their progress on her screen, which doesn’t show everything, but she can see where they’re at on the test.
“It’s fun to be able to see that, and realize, ‘Oh my goodness, they’re doing so well,’” she said.
Olson said she’s excited to be able to proctor those tests as well, but really enjoys the energy behind-the-wheel testing brings, especially with first-time drivers.
“The kids are so pumped and rightfully so. It’s such a new level of freedom,” she said. “It’s so fun to kind of grant that for them, even though that’s not really our position.”
Their role is to help process the paperwork to get the physical driver’s license, obviously an integral part of the whole process.
Olson is newer in the office, and her learning was interrupted by maternity leave, but she said she’s relearning everything easily.
“I’m super thankful for Cheryl. She’s very patient and she’s a great teacher,” Olson said.
One of the biggest changes in recent years is the switch to the online submission site MnDRIVE. Prior to this online program, employees had to complete a set of paperwork for the state to check over to ensure it was complete, and then issue a title, for example.
“Now what we input, probably three-quarters of the time, the title is issued by what we do,” Engstrom said. “They don’t actually check over our work. But we do need to dot our Is, and cross our Ts, and make sure everything is exact.”
Olson said her experience with MnDRIVE has also been positive, in that it “makes things foolproof.” She said the program checks for errors and flags them if an employee didn’t do something right.
“That’ll trigger just about anyone to check their work,” she said.
“MnDRIVE has been a great system compared to the last three we’ve been through,” Engstrom agreed.
Even though there have been staff shortages and times the office has to be closed, Engstrom and Olson encourage the public to call and stop in with questions. They want to ensure customers have the best possible experience with the least amount of frustration. The office phone number is 218-843-2657.
The driver’s license office is now located in Suite 214, which is on the upper floor of the courthouse at the east end – formerly the taxpayer services office.
Customers can also visit the website for more information:
•https://co.kittson.mn.us/government/departments/driver_s_license_motor_vehicle.php