News > Grounded in Safety. Powered by Purpose.

Grounded in Safety. Powered by Purpose.

October 15, 2026

We prioritize safety at Stearns Electric Association. It’s our mission to safely deliver reliable and competitively priced power to our members. In order to accomplish this, our employees must think safe, act safe, dress safe and work safe. 

THINK SAFE: SAFETY COMMITTEE
“Safety at Stearns Electric isn’t just about complying with rules, regulations and mandates. It’s about building a culture where employees constantly think about safety,” Sandy Borstad, safety and loss administrator, said. “When employees watch out for one another, speak up when they see something unsafe and act in a way that will keep themselves and their peers safe, they create a safety culture we strive for here at the Co-op.” 

To keep safety top of mind, our employee-led Safety Committee guides the Cooperative’s internal safety goals and initiatives. The committee includes employees from various departments and receives support from statewide safety experts at the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA). Members of the Safety Committee meet monthly to review safety ideas, concerns and opportunities for improvement.

Each year, the Safety Committee sets safety goals for the Cooperative. It also reviews internal safety procedures, emergency response plans, employee-submitted incident and near miss reports, and other workplace safety concerns.

Additionally, committee members meet with other employees as needed to document insights and gather ideas for safety-related practices needed or wanted at the Co-op. 

ACT SAFE: SAFETY TRAINING
Regular training gives employees the knowledge and practice they need to act safely. It also strengthens the Cooperative’s overall safety culture.

Every employee participates in at least one safety-focused training each month, regardless of their role at the Cooperative. All employees review monthly safety training topics during department meetings, while field employees also participate in additional hands-on safety trainings throughout the year.

“For hands-on field training, we partner with MREA, which allows employees to be trained by industry experts and helps ensure any changes in safety rules and regulations are shared quickly with us,” Borstad said. “These training topics include excavation safety, substation safety, CPR and first aid, work zone safety and annual pole top and bucket rescues, among other things, which are all focused on keeping our line crews and employees safe in the field.”

“This real-world training happens in a controlled environment where employees can physically accomplish a work-related task without fear of injury or electrocution,” Jake Dooner, Manager of Operations, said. “That way, when it comes to working out in the field with live electrical equipment, employees are familiar with the task at hand and have the hands-on experience needed to complete it safely.”

DRESS SAFE: PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Working safely around high-voltage electrical equipment begins with wearing the right protection. Field employees wear the apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE) required for their jobs, including:

• Hard hat
• Safety glasses
• Rubber sleeves
• Rubber gloves
• Hi-vis shirts/safety vests
• Flame resistant (FR) clothing
• Steel-toed boots
• Safety harnesses

“Field employees look over their PPE every day to check for holes, cracks, frays and other possible hazards,” Borstad explained. “In addition, we send our rubber gloves and sleeves to be professionally tested every month.” 

WORK SAFE: JOB BRIEFINGS
Ahead of any work beginning at a job site, Stearns Electric lineworkers hold a job briefing. 

“During a job briefing, the entire crew reviews the work plan and identifies potential hazards of the job and the jobsite,” Dooner explained. “This ensures the entire crew understands the project scope, knows their specific roles and knows what they need to do to complete their work safely.”

Stearns Electric’s safety culture is intentional. Through the work of our Safety Committee, regular trainings, ongoing reminders and careful job preparation, the Cooperative has made safety a long-standing priority, and will continue strengthening that commitment for years to come.