Rod Schrage, Electric Department Superintendent for Lindsborg, Kansas, was presented with the 2025 Lineworker Award of Excellence by Kansas Municipal Utilities (KMU). Schrage was presented the award at the 2025 KMU Conference in Wichita on April 24, 2025, by John Littleton, KMU Director of Energy Services.

The Lineworker Award of Excellence is presented to the Electric Lineworker who best exemplifies their community's core values and craft. The nominee criteria include a demonstrated commitment to improving the lives of their community members, striving to achieve excellence in their technical field, and acting as a mentor for their peers and others. 

As part of the letter of recommendation, Kristi Northcut - previous City Administrator of Lindsborg, stated in her submission to KMU, "In just the last three years, Rod's achievements have included, but are not limited to:

• $1M+ expansion of the City's substation, adding resiliency and redundancy to our system.
• Re-committed the City of Lindsborg to the mutual aid program and assisted neighboring communities with projects that needed experienced lineworkers.
• Mentored and supervised apprentices within the Electric Department staff.
• Mentored interns who gained experience working with the Electric Department staff.
• Instructed underground and overhead courses for KMU.
• In the best interest of the City, Rod developed an in-house tree trimming program for the community, a project that was previously outsourced with a high price tag. This has kept our outages to a minimum during high winds and severe weather conditions."

Rod brings experience and high-quality leadership to his team and the City and is an outspoken advocate for the profession. He is deeply committed to lineworker safety and proper training, which is proven by Lindsborg's record of safety and excellence. 

Going above and beyond, Rod has been a steadfast supporter of KMU and has recently joined the team at KMU to install new concrete pads for the training field, enhancing the quality of training and the safety of our students.

Congratulations, Rod!