Townships hold annual elections

Turnout was high Tuesday for the Warsaw Township election, where 129 voters made it to the polls.

Challenger Jason Fehling upended incumbent Supervisor Nordis Estrem, winning 67-61. Estrem had been a supervisor since 1984.

Clerk Jimmilee Miller was reelected. Warsaw's levy remains the same at $170,000

While turnout was good, it was actually down from last year when a local lawsuit helped push 171 voters to the polls. In last year's race, Fehling, who was involved in the lawsuit, lost to the incumbent Larry Beckman.

Polls were open in most townships across Goodhue County Tuesday, where voters were asked to select their town supervisors and clerks. Townships also set their levies and budgets.

Belle Creek

Unopposed Supervisor James Hadler was reelected with 25 votes and unopposed Clerk Steve McNamera was reelected with 30 votes. The levy remains the same at $143,000.

Belvidere

Unopposed Supervisor Stan Klair and unopposed Clerk Patricia Stemmann both were reelected, receiving 16 votes apiece. The levy remains the same at $125,000.

Cannon Falls

Unopposed Supervisor Debby Hendrickson and unopposed Clerk Deborah Stark both were reelected. The levy remains the same at $210,000.

Cherry Grove

Supervisor Carol Trelstad was reelected. Clerk Dan Quam was reelected.

Featherstone

Unopposed Supervisor David Schwartau and unopposed Clerk Trudy Zorn were both reelected. The levy stayed the same at $170,000.

Florence

In a relatively tight supervisor race, Clay Ruggles took in 42 votes to beat the incumbent Joan Marchman, who garnered 35 votes. Incumbent Clerk Susan Eisenmenger was reelected, taking in 71 votes. The levy was lowered $1,500 to $270,000.

Goodhue

Both unopposed Supervisor George Raasch and unopposed Clerk David Burfeind were reelected. Rassch took in 32 votes. There were 11 write-in votes for supervisor. Burfeind garnered 48 votes. There were 2 write in votes for clerk. The levy remains the same at $168,000.

Hay Creek

Incumbent Arlen Diercks was reelected to supervisor and write-in candidate Lynette Nadeau was elected as clerk. The levy remains the same at $175,000.

Leon

Mark Hernke won a squeaker over Steve Haggstrom to become supervisor. Hernke took in 23 votes, while Haggstrom brought in 22. Also running, Bill Erickson received 14 votes. All three men ran for the incumbent Bruce Hockensmith's seat. Hockensmith chose not to seek reelection.

There were 22 write-in votes for the incumbent Clerk Brad Anderson, who had chosen not to run. The levy went up $4,000, bringing the annual amount up to $185,500.

Minneola

No information was available at press time.

Pine Island

Unopposed Supervisor Leslie Schliep and unopposed Clerk David Arndt were both reelected. The levy stayed the same at $155,000.

Roscoe

Supervisor Patric Morgan and Clerk Steven Kirch were both reelected with 15 votes apiece. There were no write-in votes. The levy stayed the same at $200,000.

Stanton

Supervisor Vince Cockriel and unopposed Clerk Laura Pederson were both reelected. The levy stayed the same at $218,000.

Vasa

Unopposed Supervisor Rick Samuelson and Clerk James Hedeen were both reelected, each receiving 13 votes. The levy stayed the same at $187,000.

Wacouta

Sue Betcher was elected supervisor. She received 94 votes. There were 23 write-in votes.

Incumbent Clerk Laura Lutjen was reelected. She garnered 104 votes. There were 2 write-in votes.

The levy went up $1,389, bringing the annual amount up to $135,389.

Wanamingo

Unopposed Supervisor Len Feuling and unopposed Clerk Jessica Page were both reelected. The levy stayed the same at $157,000.

Welch

Unopposed Supervisor Darwin Fox and unopposed Clerk Ken Slingsby were each reelected, hauling in 23 votes apiece. The levy remains the same at $212,000.

Zumbrota

Unopposed incumbents, Clerk Laurie Hoernemann and Supervisor Dean Tiedeman both won, each garnering 35 votes. The levy remains the same at $139,000.

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