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Voters in Hills will choose between two candidates running for mayor in the Nov. 3 general election.
Incumbent Mayor Keith Elbers is being challenged by Arlen Leenderts.
The Star Herald asked the two mayoral candidates four questions about why they decided to run for office and what they feel qualifies them for the position.
The questions were:
1.) Why do you want to be (re)elected as city of Hills mayor?
2.) List experiences and/or qualifications that will be helpful in fulfilling the mayor’s duties, should you win the Nov. 3 general election.
3.) What do you think are the primary challenges facing your community and how will you lead your city through these challenges?
4.) What do you want to accomplish while in office?
Keith Elbers
Elbers owns Elbers Auction Service in Hills and is co-owner of Real Estate Retrievers.
He and his wife, Annette, have one son, Tyler (Kala) Bush, and three grandchildren, Micah, Malachi and Maybrie.
Elbers serves on the boards of directors for the Southwest Regional Development Commission, Luverne Area Community Foundation and Rock County Historical Society; advisory boards of Sioux Valley Energy and Sanford Luverne Hospice; and member of the Steen Reformed Church and HBCS Community Club.
1.) I have enjoyed serving and representing the residents of Hills and wish to continue the work we have started.
2.) I have served on the city council for several years as a council person and the last eight years as mayor. I have served on many boards and committees that not only get the city of Hills exposure, but also bring valuable information, ideas and provide access to obtain resources that will benefit the residents of Hills.
3.) Currently today we are facing the COVID crisis. The threat has become a reality for even Hills. I have assisted and closely worked with the county and state in regard to receiving and delivering the necessary precautionary supplies to our schools and nursing home as well as our city’s businesses. I have attended many meetings regarding distribution of our CARES Act funding. I have dealt with other disasters in the past (ice storm) and always kept the residents aware of every situation. I have worked closely with the council to ensure all residents are cared for. Hills always comes together to bring out the best in our town and our residents.
Another challenge is always economic development. We have businesses that would love to come to our community, but we have a land shortage problem. Although we do have some property available for new homes, we lack the space needed for future commercial development and need to explore avenues to address the program.
Maintaining of infrastructure (water, sewer and streets) has always been and always will be a challenge in a small town, but we do have a long-term plan in place to try being as proactive as possible to future problems we may face.
Hills is proud of the fact that we are one of the lowest taxed communities in the county and trying to maintain that status while being progressive, which is always a challenge as well. Hills has been blessed with a good council and employees that make the job a lot easier.
My goal is always to put the needs of the residents first.
4.) I want to always represent the residents in Hills the best way I can. I want to continue to make Hills a wonderful place to live and do business. I want to pursue the need to adding and keeping business to Hills and work with the situations at hand to make things happen. I want to maintain our financial status to keep taxes low as well as adding new ideas and keeping our expenses in check. Hills has always been a wonderful place to live; our community has been fortunate in being a safe place to raise a family. Many of our children have a desire to return to Hills and I want to continue that tradition of being the best in small town living — of which Hills does it best.
Arlen Leenderts
Leenderts owns and operates Leenderts Lawn Care. He also is a bus driver for Hills-Beaver Creek School District.
Leenderts and his wife, Lois, have three children, Greg, Tonya and Jessie.
1.) I feel it’s good to have new people with different and new ideas.
2.) I previously served on the city council for 11 years. I have operated my own business for 14 years. I previously served on the Hills Fire Department for 25 years.
3.) We are losing businesses. I would look for incentives to help bring more to our town.
4.) I would like to help our town grow with more businesses. I would like to make our parks a show place we can be proud of. I would like to improve the communication with the town’s people.