Austin City Council approves resolution renaming conference room at City Hall in honor of former Mayor Bonnie Rietz

The Austin City Council approved a resolution at their Monday meeting dedicating a conference room at Austin City Hall as the “Bonnie Besse Rietz” Conference Room moving forward.  Austin Mayor Steve King spoke with KAUS during the “Meet the Mayor” segment of “Wright Here, Right Now,” and he stated that Rietz is richly deserving of the honor…

Rietz, who was named a Pillar of the City of Austin in 2019 served as a member of the Austin City Council from 1989-1997 and later served as the first female Mayor of Austin for an additional 10 years.  Among her numerous accomplishments, Rietz currently serves as the vice-chair of The Hormel Foundation and is the first woman to serve in that role. As Vice Chair of the Hormel Foundation and a board member of the Riverland Foundation, she worked on developing the Assurance Scholarship Program for all local High School graduates to attend Riverland Community College tuition free for two years.

Rietz also served as President of three statewide organizations, including the League of Minnesota Cities, the Coalition for Greater Minnesota Cities and the Minnesota Mayors Association.  Rietz also helped to establish many groups in the Austin community including the Welcome Center, the Austin Area Drug Task Force, Page Turners, Apex Austin, and Access Austin.  In 2012, she co-founded the Austin Artworks Festival and she continues to serve as the co-chair of the event. She is also a member and a former president of Rotary Club, the American Association of University Women, The Friends of the Nature Center, Friends of the Library, and Global Health Ministries.