ABOVE: D&R Repair Owner Duane Tenney works on putting a wheel bearing on a customer’s vehicle. Tenney, who has run D&R Repair for 40 years, is looking to continue until he is 70, which is around 11 years.

FAIRMONT – From his farm to his current location at 1000 North State Street in Fairmont, Duane Tenney has spent the last 40 years fixing the cars of Fairmont area citizens at D&R Repair.

It started with Tenney graduating from Jackson Vocational School in 1986, which is now one of the five Minnesota West Community and Technical College campuses. Officially graduated, Tenney looked around before deciding to start on his own.

“I was looking for work, expected to do stuff in town, and nobody was hiring,” he said. “I went and saw a guy south of town, and he told me, ‘Why don’t you just open your own Duane? Don’t work for somebody, just open your own.’ So I did.”

From 1986 to 1994, he worked on his own property, a farm. To get his name out there, Tenney said he advertised where he could and he wasn’t picky with what he worked on. That same virtue is true to this day, as Tenney also works on wheelchair lifts, which he picked up in the late 90s while assisting Prairie Lakes Transportation.

He then moved to the current location, where he rented two bays first, then bought the building in 1998. By having a building in town, Tenney said it made it a lot easier over the years with traffic, equipment and staffing. Currently, it’s mainly a one-man show for Tenney, save for help he receives from his three sons.

From his time on his farm to now, Tenney said the biggest change was the increased use of electronics in automotives.

“I never worked on that newer stuff out the farm, because nobody had much of that stuff,” he said. “Then everything involved more and more electronics and equipment, that’s what really changed.”

With the new modern ways, Tenney said it hasn’t necessarily made things easier, as even though he has a code scanner to show him what part is having issues, there’s still a multitude of reasons said part could be having issues which he needs to figure out.

While being able to pinpoint where issues are has been a benefit with these new cars, Tenney said there are other areas in new cars that have made things more difficult.

“Timing chains, cam phasers,” he said. “They put all that in for fuel economy. They really compact everything. You used to open the hood and see the motor. Now you open the hood, all you see is plastic.”

As it was back when he started, Tenney said brakes and oil changes are the most common reasons people come in. With the weather swinging back and forth between nice and colder, he said winters like these tend to open leaks sometimes, and as it gets warmer people will be getting their AC looked at.

With all of his experience, Tenney said he has no shortage of callers who ask for assistance. He also has lifelong customers, and those who have been coming for decades. Throughout his time, Tenney said it’s all been about one thing.

“Just help people,” he said. “Help people if they need anything, if it’s something I’m able to help them with getting through.”

Looking forward, Tenney knows how much longer he wants to go, but there’s still plenty that’s up in the air.

“I don’t think anybody wants to take it over,” he said. “My boys talk about it once in a while, but they all got their own professions. How long do I hang around? I’m guessing I’ll be here till at least 70, I’m 59 right now.”

*This article ran in the Spring Car Care section of the March 12, 2026 edition of the Sentinel.