Board approves purchase option for CAT motor grader

By Anna Jauhola
The Kittson County Commissioners approved a request to purchase a motor grader at the end of the leasing term during its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 5.
County Engineer Arthur Kukowski brought this up in April, for consideration, but had to get permission from Ziegler CAT on whether the county could wait to pay a month after the lease. The lease on the CAT motor grader he wants to purchase ends on Jan. 19, 2026.
“We do have approval from CAT to push the actual, final purchase into 2027 so we can put that in our next year’s budget,” Kukowski said. “I think this is our best route forward to just make sure we stay covered.”
“Is there a reason for doing this now?” asked Chair Loren Younggren. “I mean, we’ve got seven months until we have to be concerned about it. Is there a reason you wanted to approve it now?”
“I guess I just wanted to make sure it was taken care of,” Kukowski said. “We don’t have to approve now, but I figured while it was fresh in everyone’s mind, and then we don’t hit the end of the lease and say, ‘Oh no.'”

To read the whole story, see the May 13, 2026, edition of the Kittson County Enterprise