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Kres Ehresmann, who helped guide Minnesota through pandemic, set to retire
Alongside Governor Tim Walz and Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm, Kris Ehresmann was one of Minnesota's guiding voices as the COVID-19 pandemic set in.
(FOX 9) - Alongside Governor Tim Walz and Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm, Kris Ehresmann was one of Minnesota's guiding voices as the COVID-19 pandemic set in.
As head of the state's Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention, and Control Division, Ehresmann was present on March 6, 2020 as Governor Tim Walz announced Minnesota had detected its first case of COVID-19. In the weeks and months that followed, Ehresmann was also a constant voice on the state's daily COVID-19 status update calls.
With a calm and measured voice during an uncertain time, and while many people were closely watching the state's updates amid the governor's "stay-at-home" order, Ehresmann was leaned on by Walz and Malcolm to provide the best medical advice available.
When she retires next week, Ehresmann will put a cap on 30 years of service to Minnesota. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ehresmann also helped guide police in Minnesota's response to the H1N1 virus and the measles outbreak in 2017.
Speaking with FOX 9 on Friday, she told us about how she got her start.
"My first job as a student worker at the department was working for Mike Osterholm," Ehresmann recalled. "So I feel like, you know, he really. Instilled in us the pursuit of excellence and that that carried on to the next generation of epidemiologists, and I can tell you that the generation that comes after me is pursuing excellence in the same way. So that tradition continues."
Her husband is also retiring from the health department. Ehresmann's last day is on Wednesday, Feb. 2.