Corps of Engineers recognizes Bloomington, Minnesota, resident

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, selected Mike DeRusha as one of its three Civil Servants of the Year for 2018.

The St. Paul District presents this award annually to the top three or four employees of its nearly 700-person staff. DeRusha, with 32 years of federal service including 27 with the St. Paul District, retired in 2019 as lockmaster of the district’s three Minneapolis locks and dams.

DeRusha was nominated for the “Customer Service” award for facilitating public, media and congressional inquiries and visits at the three locks and dams located in a large metropolitan area and generating much interest.

“Throughout a disposition study to determine the future of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock, DeRusha represented the Corps of Engineers in an exceptionally professional manner,” said Jim Rand, chief of locks and dams. “He also volunteered many times to deploy and support disaster response efforts, including after Hurricane Maria and California wildfires.”

DeRusha’s award was presented at the 42^nd Annual Minnesota Civil Servant of the Year Awards at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, May 1.

“To be held in such high regard as the other two Civil Servants of the Year is a reward in itself,” DeRusha said.

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