Kolby Kolbet
Board Member
Darin Wendel
Executive Director and Chief of EMS
Darin Wendel is a seasoned EMS and healthcare operations leader with more than 30 years of experience spanning critical care transport, communications, clinical program development, and systemwide operational leadership. As Director of Clinical Services at Lakes Region EMS, he oversees all clinical aspects of one of the nation’s premier critical care ambulance services, working closely with a highly skilled team to ensure exceptional, evidence-based care for the communities they serve. Throughout his career, Darin has led major organizational initiatives that strengthened workforce culture, improved patient outcomes, modernized training and education, and enhanced operational efficiency. His leadership blends data-driven decision-making with a hands-on approach that empowers providers and builds trust across teams. Darin’s extensive clinical background includes work as a Critical Care Paramedic, Cardiovascular Technician in a Top 100 heart hospital, Flight Paramedic, and long-time Volunteer Firefighter. He also has significant experience leading high-volume medical communications, developing new service lines, and advancing clinical standards across complex EMS systems.
Aarron Reinert
Executive Director - Emeritus
Aarron has become nationally known as a leader, master teacher and expert in management, leadership, system design and applied best practices in rural and small town emergency medical services systems. Aarron has been involved in emergency medical services for more than 30 years and is well known for asking tough questions and encouraging out-of-the-box thinking. Using such tools as the Balanced Scorecard, Aarron helps organizations recognize the necessary balance between finance, customer service, employee satisfaction and community awareness. Aarron’s recognized understanding of current emergency services issues led to him serving on numerous national boards and projects and to an appointment as chairperson of the National EMS Advisory Council by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
Mike Carroll
Vice Chairman
Mike Carroll, a Minneapolis native, moved to Rush City in 1981 to purchase funeral homes in the Rush City and Pine City areas. Shortly thereafter, Mike became involved in the health care needs of the communities. He served as a board member and chairperson of the Rush City Hospital Board, Fairview Lakes Regional Medical Center Board and most recently the Fairview Health System Board. Mike has also been an active member of the Chisago County Hospice Board, the Rush City Commercial Club, Chambers of Commerce, Villages of North Branch (Ecumen), First State Bank of Rush City Board and the First Evangelical Lutheran Church Board. As well as the Lakes Region EMS board where he serves as Vice Chairperson, Mike currently sits on the Unity Bank Advisory Board, Rush City Economic Development Authority and the Fairview Lakes Regional Medical Center Board in Wyoming. Mike has three adult children; Tom (Lilly) Carroll of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Erin (Jason) Oare of Rush City and Britta Carroll of St. Paul, Minnesota. His small amount of free time is spent working around home, cooking, gardening, Minnesota Twins baseball games and traveling.
Keith Carlson
Chairman
As the mayor of Lindstrom for the past 12 years, a local business owner of 38 years and a lifetime Lindstrom resident, I have had the opportunity to become involved in a variety of organizations and governments. I have been a Lindstrom City Council member for 38 years, a part of the Chisago Lakes Lions Clubs for 24 years and with the Lakes Region EMS as a Board member for the past 10 years. I have been married to my wife Joan, a former public school teacher, for 44 years. We have two children, Stewart, who is a Pastor with Sychar Lutheran Church in Silver Bay, MN and Anne, who is a Qualified Mental Retardation Professional and a student with William Mitchell College of Law.
Dan Meyer
Treasurer
I have been serving with the North Branch Police Department since 1999 and currently hold the position of Police Chief, as well as being the Emergency Management director for the city of North Branch. I hold a Bachelor’s of Science degree in law enforcement from Metropolitan State University and a Master of Arts degree in Police Leadership from the University of St. Thomas. I am also a graduate of the Minnesota Chief of Police Association CLEO and Command Academy and have received the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Police Management and Supervision Certificate. I am also certified in FEMA's Advanced National Incident Management System and im certified as an emergency medical responder through the State of MN EMS regulatory board. In addition to serving on the Lakes Region EMS Board of Directors, I am a member of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association and the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association.
Christopher Ward, M.D.
Medical Director
I am employed as an Emergency Physician at Fairview lakes Hospital in Wyoming, MN and serve as the Medical Director for Lakes Region EMS. I began as an EMT through Stevens County Ambulance service in Morris, MN in 1999, then moving on to becoming a Paramedic through Century College in Maplewood, MN from 2002-2003. I worked for Allina Health as a paramedic from 2004-2006. I attended Medical school at St. Georges University in Grenada, WI from 2006-2010. I completed my residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA for Emergency Medicine from 2010-2014 and finished my Fellowship at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, MN in pre-hospital medicine/EMS from 2014-2015. I enjoy running and have completed 10 marathons. I am working towards running one marathon in every state. I built a “race car” in residency and competed in 6 endurance races. I am currently building another car to race in Minnesota. In addition to running and auto racing, I also enjoy biking, hiking, camping rock climbing and music.
Brandon Thyen
Board Member
I am the current Chisago County Sheriff and have over twenty-five years of law enforcement experience serving the Chisago County community. The last twenty-three years, I have been serving with the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office, where I have held numerous positions and ranks. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in both Law Enforcement and Ethnic Studies. My wife and I have lived in Chisago County for twenty-three years and we have a 20-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son. I enjoy outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, biking, and running. Besides playing adult hockey, I also enjoy being a youth hockey coach and hockey referee. I like to train and compete in triathlons and other endurance races. I am a steering committee member for the Chisago Lakes Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization that supports area veterans. I also serve on the Board of Directors for Lakes Center for Youth and Families which supports area youth. I am involved on the national level with Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and an active member in the MN Sheriff’s Association.
Josh Howell
Board Member
Josh Howell is Associate Vice President of Flight & Ambulance Operations for Intermountain Health, where he leads enterprise air and ground medical transportation services. With more than 20 years of experience in EMS, air medical transport, healthcare operations, and strategy, Josh focuses on improving access to care through integrated, high-reliability systems. Previously, Josh served as President and CEO of Life Link III, helping expand one of the nation’s largest nonprofit air medical programs while earning national recognition for clinical, operational, and aviation safety excellence. Beginning a career as a paramedic, Josh remains passionate about EMS system design, critical care transport, healthcare access, and operational integration. Josh holds master's degrees in Health Care Administration and Business Administration, is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), and has served in numerous healthcare and community nonprofit leadership roles.
Jack Dressen
Board Member
Jack Dressen joined the Lakes Region Emergency Medical Services Board of Directors in December 2025. He currently serves as Vice President of Hospital Specialty Services and Radiology at HealthPartners, where he provides executive oversight for Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Hospital Medicine, and Radiology services. His role also includes operational leadership for HealthPartners Direct, the system’s transfer and coordination center, as well as the HealthPartners ECMO program. Prior to joining the Lakes Region EMS Board, Jack served as a Director on the St. Croix Valley EMS Board. He brings extensive experience in hospital-based operations, clinical service-line strategy, and regional care coordination. Jack grew up in outstate Minnesota and now resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two young children. He holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor’s degree from Creighton University.
