Pelican Rapids Splits City Legal Services Between Two Firms

Pelican Rapids will begin 2026 with civil legal work shared by Kennedy & Graven and Krekelberg Law after the City Council approved the arrangement following a procurement and review process. Council members framed the decision as a way to maintain steady advice on routine municipal matters while expanding the pool of specialized counsel available for more complex or contested cases.

Council discussion at the December 11 meeting outlined transition steps and contract terms that will govern the division of labor between the two firms. City staff will coordinate handover of open matters so that permitting, ordinance drafting, contract review, and daily governance needs continue without interruption. At the same time the arrangement is intended to ensure rapid access to attorneys with experience in civil litigation and other specialized areas when the city requires deeper legal support.

For residents and local businesses the change will be most visible in how and where legal questions are routed. Routine inquiries from departments such as planning, public works, and finance are expected to remain readily available through the city attorney function, while cases involving contested litigation or novel regulatory issues may be referred to the firm with matching expertise. The split also provides the city with redundancy, reducing the risk that a single firm overload or turnover would leave municipal operations without immediate counsel.

This approach reflects a practical governance choice for small cities that must balance cost control, continuity, and access to specialized legal talent. City officials said the procurement was designed to compare capabilities and ensure the community would not lose institutional knowledge during the change. Implementation steps discussed at the meeting call for coordinated transitions of ongoing matters and clear contract provisions to define responsibility for routine services versus specialized or civil litigation work.

Pelican Rapids joins other municipalities that use multiple outside law firms to meet a range of legal needs while protecting continuity. City staff will provide updates as the formal contracts are executed and the 2026 transition moves forward.