The Miller city council is composed of six council members elected from three wards
within the city. The council members serve a two-year term. The council is lead by an elected mayor who serves a two-year term.
Ron Blachford
Mayor
Email:
Send an email
Committees: Ex-officio member of all
committees
Ronald (Ron) Blachford was born in Miller and has lived in Hand County all of his life. He has been a resident of Miller for the last 21 years.
He is currently the Highway Superintendent for Hand County and has been employed by Hand County for 30 years.
Ron has three children, two step-children, four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
He is proud to serve as the mayor of Miller.
Casey Schultz
Council Member - Ward 1
Email:
Committees: Public Safety
Utilities
Personnel
Bio coming soon.
Lorin Johnson
Council Member - Ward 1
Email: Send
an email
Committees: Streets, Park, Ballpark
Utilities
Airport, City Planning & Zoning
Lorin Johnson is a Miller native graduating from Miller High School and then graduating from Wyoming Technical Institute in auto body. He has worked in Miller his whole life including positions at J&J Auto, Koch Manufacturing, Hand County Implement, Cenex, and in his current position since 1998 as Post -construction Coordinator for Mid-Dakota Rural Water System.
He is married to Barb who currently works as the bookkeeper for Kroeplin Ag. They have two boys, Lane and Luke.
Lorin is a race car enthusiast and has been racing since 1981. He has raced from Florida to Texas to Wisconsin and right here in his hometown of Miller. He also enjoys helping his son Lane who races go-karts.
Lorin is serving his third term as a city council member.
Joe Zeller
Council Member - Ward 2
Committees: Finance Office
Streets, Park, Ballpark
Personnel
Bio coming soon.
Kevin VanDerWerff
Council Member - Ward 2
Committees: Utilities
Airport, City Planning & Zoning
Kevin VanDerWerff has lived in Miller for most of his life. He has
been married to Veronica for 21 years and has four kids. He enjoys
motorcycling, hunting, and fishing.
Kevin is currently employed as the service manager for Titan Machinery.
Jim Odegaard
Council Member - Ward 3
Committees: Finance Office
Streets, Park, Ballpark
Personnel
Jim Odegaard was born in Miller on July 19th, 1954, to Bud and Francelia Odegaard. He has an older brother, Rich, who lives in Browning, MT, and an older sister, Ann, who passed away in 2005. Jim grew up on a farm south of Highmore and attended school there. During his high school years, he worked at the Pioneer Garage in Highmore and after high school, he attended a year at the Vo-Tech in Springfield, SD, for auto mechanics.
Jim met his wife, Corrine, in Highmore and they were married on May 25th, 1974. They have two sons, Eric and Clinton, and one grandchild, Courtney. Their oldest son, Eric, and his wife, Angie, and daughter, Courtney, live in Spencer, IA. Their youngest son, Clint, was married to Dana in March, 2007, and reside in Minooka, IL.
In May, 1974, Jim and his family moved to Miller and he worked for Kennedy Houseboats for 12 years. After the factory moved, he went to work full-time for Pugh Brothers on their farm. He is currently employed at Dakota Energy Coop where he has worked for six years.
His hobbies are snowmobiling, woodworking and remodeling their home.
He was a member of the Miller Fire Department for a number of years and
was elected to the Miller City Council in April of 2007.
Phil Testerman
Council Member - Ward 3
Committees: Finance Office
Public Safety
Airport, City Planning & Zoning
Phil Testerman is a lifelong resident of Hand County. He was born
in Bates township and graduated from Wessington High School. He is
married to Phyllis and they have three sons; James, Bruce, and Kevin
(deceased).
Phil grew corn, oats, and wheat, and had a cow/calf operation on his farm. He was a member of St. Lawrence Farmers Elevator Association, he is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is a Shriner. He is a former five-term south Dakota legislator, a former two-term Hand County commissioner, and served 21 years on the Harvest States Cooperatives board of directors. Phil previously served on the board of the Jerauld County Co-op, and was chairman of the St. Lawrence Farmers Elevator Association and the Hand County Commission.