Iron County challenges John Deere over tractor failures, seeks recall credit

Iron County commissioners voted 4-1 on April 14 to send John Deere a formal letter of concern after a county tractor failed in a way officials say matched a known design flaw, even though the machine’s serial number put it outside the current recall.

The dispute centers on an air cleaner mount on an aluminum valve cover that can crack, pull debris into the engine and score the pistons. County staff said the same part and the same failure pattern showed up in the Iron County machine, and Northland Ag & Turf estimated repairs at more than $12,000. Civil Counsel Steve Tinti was authorized to draft the letter, which is meant to seek a repair credit if Deere expands the recall and to alert federal regulators to the issue. Commissioner Patti Peretto cast the lone dissent.

Facilities and Parks Supervisor Robby Olsen said he had already tried to work through the dealer and John Deere corporate without getting far. The county’s position is that identical parts should not be treated differently because of a serial-number cutoff. John Deere’s maintenance literature for the 1025R lists the primary and secondary air-filter parts for the model, which is part of Iron County’s argument that the same component matters even when the serial number falls outside a recall boundary. Public tractor discussions also describe Deere later re-engineering the air-cleaner mounting arrangement on some 1-series tractors after similar cracking and contamination problems.

For Iron County taxpayers, the issue is more than a warranty fight. The road commission maintains 224 MDOT highway miles, 270 primary road miles and 363 local road miles, work that depends on equipment that can stay in the field and in the shop on county terms, not on a manufacturer’s technicality. The commission’s April 14 meeting at 800 W. Franklin Street in Iron River also approved an Audit Committee Report covering disbursements of $780,647.93, underscoring how quickly an added repair bill can affect a public budget built around roads, buildings and day-to-day service.

The same meeting handled routine county business as well. Commissioners moved to reclassify the Soil and Sedimentation Erosion Control inspector job as a part-time Courthouse Union position at $28 an hour, with new storm-water and erosion-control credential requirements. They accepted a $14,960 roof replacement proposal for the Sheriff’s Department, noted that Veterans Services had secured new space in the former Iron River City Hall building and appointed Anthony Dallavalle to the Parks and Recreation Committee. Present were Chairman Ernie Schmidt, Commissioners Jim Cihak, Dan Germic and Chuck Battan, along with Finance Director Michelle Johnson, Construction Foreman Dylon LaMay, Shop Foreman Duane Porier, Attorney Mark Tousignant, James Olson of GEI and County Commissioner Ean Bruette.