Seven townships elect new supervisors

Elections had varying turnouts Tuesday night as voters gathered to elect supervisors and clerks for a majority of the 21 townships throughout Goodhue County.

Some townships saw more than 100 people show up to the polls while others had fewer than 15.

Hay Creek elected new supervisor Keith Fossen, a member of the local Save the Bluffs group that is working to protect the area from a silica sand mine. Other townships electing new supervisors for the coming year were Cannon Falls, Goodhue, Roscoe, Wacouta, Wanamingo and Warsaw.

In addition to the elections, many townships also held their annual meetings Tuesday and finalized levy amounts.

Here are the results:

Belle Creek

Supervisor Richard Buck received 47 of 50 votes to be re-elected to his position, while clerk Steve McNamara was re-elected with all 50 votes.

The levy will remain the same as last year with $6,000 for the general fund, $127,500 for roads and bridges, $7,500 for fire and $2,000 for ambulance.

Belvidere

Seventeen voters showed out to the polls, re-electing Henry Thomforde to a three-year term as supervisor and Patricia Stemmann to a two-year term as clerk.

The levy will stay at $125,000, with $15,000 going to the general fund, $103,000 going to roads and bridges and $7,000 allotted for fire and ambulance.

Cannon Falls

Write-in candidate Mark Nelson received 71 votes to be elected supervisor, while write-in candidate Sue Safe had 97 to take on the position of clerk.

The levy will stay at $210,000.

Cherry Grove

Supervisor Richard Priebe was re-elected with 13 votes. Incumbent Dan Quam did not file for the position of clerk but was elected as a write-in with 11 votes.

The levy increased a small percentage up to $135,835.

Featherstone

Twenty-two total votes were cast. Incumbent Allan Larson was re-elected for a three-year supervisor term while clerk Gaye Larson was elected for a two-year term.

Florence

Mike Blair ran unopposed for supervisor and was re-elected with 32 votes. Clerk Susan Eisenmenger collected 35 votes for re-election.

The levy increased slightly to $267,300.

Goodhue

Jeff Ofstie collected 34 of 54 total votes to defeat incumbent Dennis Buck for supervisor. Clerk David Burfeind was re-elected with 46 votes.

The levy will stay at $168,000.

Hay Creek

With 85 of 119 votes, Keith Fossen defeated Nathan Jaeger for the position of supervisor and will take the place of retiring supervisor Elaine Diercks. Incumbent Lynette Nadeau earned 66 votes to be re-elected as clerk.

The levy was set at $140,000 for roads and bridges and $50,000 for the general fund.

Silica sand mines were the primary topic discussed, and voters gave the Hay Creek Town Board authority to adopt licensing ordinances to protect the land and residents from any unwanted mining activity.

Holden

Elections will be held Nov. 6. Candidates do not have to be filed for positions until September.

Kenyon

No positions were up for re-election in 2012.

Leon

Incumbent Dennis Benson was re-elected with all of the 25 votes cast. Sandy Hanson picked up the position of clerk with 18 write-in votes.

The general fund was increased from the previous year by $350, totaling $34,350. The rest of the levy remained the same with $130,000 for roads and bridges and $30,500 for fire.

Minneola

Incumbent David Hadler defeated challenger Bruce Trevis 43-30 for the supervisor position. Clerk Sarah Pettit was re-elected with 71 votes.

The levy stays at $170,000.

Pine Island

Supervisor Glenn Betcher and clerk David Arndt each received 11 votes to be re-elected to their respective positions.

The levy is set at $155,000, the same as it was for the previous year.

Roscoe

Todd Greseth defeated Tim Mack for the position of supervisor, while Steven Kirch was re-elected for clerk.

The levy increased by 10 percent, or $20,000, from last year.

Stanton

Supervisor John Miller garnered 24 votes to be re-elected, while Clerk Cheryle Peters was re-elected with 29.

The levy remains the same as last year at $215,000.

Vasa

Supervisor Steve Hyllengren and Clerk James Hedeen each received 16 votes to be re-elected to their position. Both were unopposed.

The levy will remain at $189,000.

Wacouta

Thirty-two voters turned out to the polls. Ray Bronson was elected supervisor with 30 votes and Barb Charlson collected 21 votes to be the clerk/treasurer.

The levy is set at $151,530, unchanged from last year.

Wanamingo

Two write-ins were elected by 28 voters after nobody officially filed in the election. Tom Shane had 15 votes for supervisor and Jessica Page collected 24 for clerk.

The total levy remains the same as last year at $177,000 but allocations changed. The general fund went from $20,000 to $30,000 and roads and bridges decreased from $137,000 to $127,000.

Warsaw

Emery Maher ran unopposed for the supervisor position held by the retiring Larry Beckman and won with 87 votes. Incumbent clerk Jimmilee Miller defeated challenger Audra Fehling 77-24.

The levy increased $10,000 to $180,000. Ninety percent of the total levy is allocated to roads and bridges while 10 percent will be for the general fund.

Welch

Each getting 100 percent of the 23 votes cast, incumbents Nick Ries and Ken Slingsby will return to their positions of supervisor and clerk, respectively.

By a vote of 17-6, the township approved liquor sales in bars on Sundays. The levy stays the same as last year at $212,000.

Zumbrota

Marvin Ehlers and Laurie Hoernemann were both re-elected as supervisor and clerk. The levy will stay at $139,000.

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