Filing open Aug. 2-16 for local elections
The filing period for local elections is Aug. 2-16. City, township, school and hospital district seats will be up for election locally.
Prospective candidates for mayor and council member must file with the city clerk. Candidates for school board must file at the district office. Township candidates file with the township clerk.
The Staples Motley School District will have three seats up for election. Those seats are currently held by Roy DiGiovanni, Chad Longbella and Bryan Winkels.
The City of Staples has four council seats and the mayor’s spot up for election. Chris Etzler is the current mayor; the council seats are held by Doug Case, Mike Isenberg, Kevin Jenkins and Mary Theurer.
The City of Motley has two council seats and the mayor up for election. The mayor is currently Nancy Nieken; the council seats are held by Steve Johnson and Pat O’Regan.
The United District Hospital Board, which governs Lakewood Health System, has seven seats up for election: Staples Township, Meadow Brook Township, Moose Lake Township, Motley City, Poplar Township, Villard Township and a member-at-large seat. Residents can file with their city or township clerk for those seats.
The state-wide primary election will be held Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Wadena County’s polling places and times, as well as a sample ballot, is on page 8a. Todd County’s sample ballot and notice of election is scheduled for next week’s newspaper.
Wadena County has two contested county commissioner seats, because more than two candidates have filed for each seat.
In District 2, three candidates have filed - Brian Hagen, Ralph Miller and incumbent Jim Hofer. Ralph Miller had been the commissioner before being unseated by Hofer.
In District 4, three candidates have filed, Ross Beaumont, Chuck Horsager and Murlyn Kreklau. The current commissioner, Rodney Bounds, chose not to run again.
In both races, the top two vote-getters in the primary election will face off in the general election on Nov. 8.
Todd and Morrison counties do not have contested elections for the primary. Cass County has one three person race, with Robert Kangas, Ed Nelson and John Warren filing for the District 2 commissioner seat.
State election
The state legislature election for District 9 will not have a primary since each seat has two candidates, one Democrat and one Republican. Those seats will be determined at the Nov. 8 general election.
Candidates in the general election will be Paul Gazelka (R) and Jason Weinerman (D) for the District 9 senate seat; Meg Litts (D) and John Poston (R) for District 9A house of representatives seat; and Ron Kresha (R) and Dustin Simmonds (D) for the District 9B house of representatives.
Federal election
Republicans in Todd County have a choice for the District 7 race for U.S. House of Representatives race. Amanda Hinson and Dave Hughes are facing off in the Aug. 9 primary for the right to face Democrat Collin Peterson in the Nov. 8 general election.
Wadena, Cass and Morrison county residents will wait until the general election to decide between Republican Stewart Mills and Democrat Rick Nolan.
