WORTHINGTON — Nobles County Library Director David Bradford's employment has been terminated due to employee misconduct, and County Administrator Bruce Heitkamp will temporarily take on the library's administrative duties.
"I appreciate everyone’s support during this difficult time and ask that everyone be respectful to all parties involved," Heitkamp said Wednesday.
Bradford declined to comment on the matter on Wednesday.
Bradford, who was hired for the position in December 2019 , was notified of the termination on Dec. 22, and both the Nobles County Board of Commissioners and the Nobles County Library Board were informed shortly afterward, Heitkamp said.
Earlier this month, the county was alerted to a matter relating to Bradford, which was then subject to an investigation "not of a criminal nature," Heitkamp said at that time.
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The county will begin reviewing its library director job description next week, with a vacancy notice being offered soon after.
Library director
Bradford had been working with consultants with Library Strategies on strategic planning for the county library , and had also begun gathering information for a potential renovation of the library's Worthington branch.
Bradford's tenure as library director has been marked by tensions with the Nobles County Friends of the Library , a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting the library's needs with supplemental funding. Bradford reportedly said he would neither attend future meetings of the Friends of the Library, nor request any funding from the Friends of the Library in the future.
The Friends of the Library changed its bylaws to remove the library director from the Friends executive committee, among other changes including decreasing the size of its committees, removing restrictions on consecutive terms, reducing meeting frequency and having multiple Friends audit the group's finances instead of a CNA.
