Cole County commissioner candidate doesn’t approve of ambulance purchase

One Cole County Commission candidate says, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t have bought new county ambulances from a Canadian firm.

Rick Mihalevich says he thinks the county should have stayed with the previous local firm, Osage Ambulances in Linn.

“[Osage Ambulances] buys parts to manufacture their ambulances here locally, so businesses profit [and] their workers spend money in Cole County,” said Mihalevich, who is running against incumbent Eastern Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher.

Both Hoelscher and Western Commissioner Kris Scheperle approved the purchase from Demers, which is based in Quebec. They claim the FBI is now investigating threats made against county staff following the purchase.