From a DM&E news release, verbatim.

December 31, 1996

DM&E MANAGEMENT CHANGES ANNOUNCED

New rail president sets service improvement goals for 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BROOKINGS, SD - Kevin Schieffer, recently elected president and chief executive officers of the 1,105-mile Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad today announced a number of management and organizational changes at its Brookings, S.D. headquarters, Huron, S.D., and Minneapolis, Minn.

Vernon L. Colbert will become chief transportation officer effective January 2, 1997. He has more than 30 years of rail operating experience and has been superintendant of operations for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad at Phoenix, Ariz. since October 1995.

Daniel L. Goodwin will join DM&E on January 6 as chief mechanical officer. He has been with the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway since 1990, most recently as superintendant of motive power, and was with the Norfolk Southern and Norfolk & Western from 1970 to 1990. He succeeds Jim Appleman, who is leaving to work elsewhere in the rail industry. Schieffer commended Appleman, nothing that "Jim has been a tireless and major contributor to the success of the DM&E."

Lisa L. Rasmussen is promoted to executive assistant to the president, effective January 1. In addition to continuing a number of existing duties, in her new role she will work closely with the president in spearheading special projects as well as day-to-day management of the railroad. Rasmussen has held numerous accounting positions on the DM&E since start-up in September 1986 and was named manager--car hire in 1993 and manager--financial planning in April 1994.

Clyde F. Mittleider has been named interim manager train operations at Huron, effective December 6, 1996, filling the vacancy created by the passing of Ken Hatfield. Mittleider joined DM&E in June 1987 as a conductor and completed training as a locomotive engineer in 1991. He began railroading in 1976 with the Milwaukee Road and later Burlington Northern.

Jonathan S. Lasko is promoted to director of marketing at Minneapolis, Minn., effective January 1. Lasko joined DM&E in 1990 as marketing manager from the Chicago and North Western where he had been district sales manager and market manager.

In an organizational change effective January 1, Lynn A. Anderson becomes vice president--marketing, strategic planning and public affairs, reflecting his additional responsibility in working closely with the president in the planning and development of growth opportunities for DM&E, which Schieffer noted is a very high priority on his agenda for the railroad. In addition to marketing and his other responsibilities, Anderson continues as a director of the company and corporate secretary.

Management of the railroad's fleet of nearly 3,000 freight cars will be transferred from the marketing department to transportation, and will be managed in close coordination with marketing, mechanical and other departments.

Schieffer, who has been president of the DM&E since November 11, said the railroad would also be emphasizing more direct employee participation and a company-wide teamwork approach. The railroad's employees, he said, "have a wealth of untapped experience and knowledge...and have shown me a genuine desire to make this railroad run more efficiently. We are going to work hard in 1997 to do a better job of using that brain power resource and great employee spirit to improve our operations for shippers and create more opportunities for employees."

Schieffer disclosed that reduced transit time for shipments, better utilization of freight cars, and increased train service reliability would be major goals for the railroad in the forthcoming year.

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