Voters narrow local choices in commissioners and council races

Three local races with three or more candidates were narrowed to two candidates each during Tuesday’s primary election.
 
Luverne City Council
The first race decided Tuesday night was the three-way contest for the Luverne City Council Ward 1 seat currently held by Esther Frakes, who is not seeking re-election.
Seeking her seat on the council are Lennis “Red” Arndt, Larry Lanphere and Daniel Nath.
The two candidates to advance to the general election ballot are Nath with 110 votes (42.64 percent) and Lanphere with 90 votes (34.88 percent).
Arndt carried with the remaining 58 votes (22.48 percent) and will not advance to the General Election.
 
Commission District 3 — TIED
The District 3 county commission seat is being sought by incumbent Ron Boyenga, rural Ellsworth, and challengers Greg Burger, Luverne, and Darrel Van Aartsen, rural Luverne.
Burger took the most votes, 108, (44 percent) and Van Aartsen and Boyenga tied for second with 67 votes each (27.69 percent each). 
The Rock County Auditor Treasurer’s Office sought clarification from the Minnesota Secretary of State on how to proceed with that contest.
According to Auditor-Treasurer Ashley Kurtz, when the votes are canvassed, lots will be drawn to determine the second-place winner.
At that point, the loser can request a recount at the county's expense.
"This was truly a case where every vote counts," she said. "It took just one more vote."
 
County Commission District 1
Four candidates were seeking election to the open county commissioner seat in District 1 currently held by Ken Hoime, who opted not to seek re-election.
Candidates who filed are Don Bryan, Hardwick; Mike Davis, rural Luverne; Kyle Hemme, rural Hardwick; and Gary Overgaard, rural Magnolia.
The Star Herald arranged for a late press deadline at 10 p.m. in order to publish the most recent election results, but some counts were still considered unoffcial as of 9:45 p.m.
As the Star Herald went to press Tuesday night, voters chose Overgaard with 105 votes (40.08 percent) and Davis with 86 votes (32.82 percent)  to advance to the general election ballot.
 Hemme garnered 36 votes (13.74 percent) and Bryan had 35 votes (13.36 percent) and will not advance to the General Election.
The general election is Nov. 8.
The Rock County Auditor’s Office can be reached at 507-283-5060.
Also election information is available on the Minnesota Secretary of State website, sos.state.mn.us.
 
General Election Ballot
Running uncontested for city office are Patrick Baustian for re-election as Luverne mayor and Lori Hallstrom for Ward 2 City Council currently held by Eugene Marshall, who is not seeking re-election.
Other uncontested county elections include Jody Reisch, who filed for re-election to the District 5 county board seat, and Soil and Water Supervisors District 1, 3 and 4. Filing for those seats respectively are Eugene Cragoe, Roger Hoff and Dave Esselink.
At the state level, incumbent Bill Weber, Luverne, has filed for re-election to the State Senate District 22 seat on the Republican ticket with Brian Abrahamson of Luverne challenging Weber on the Democratic-Farmer-Labor side. Both candidates threw their hats into the ring on the first day of filing.
Laura Woods of Luverne has filed for election to the Minnesota House of Representatives District 22A on the DFL ticket. She is challenging incumbent Joe Schomacker (R-Luverne) who filed for re-election. 
At the federal level, DFL incumbent Tim Walz has filed for re-election to U.S. House District 1 seat. Two Republican challengers have also filed — Jim Hagedorn and Steve Williams. 
The filing period for school districts and small cities is Aug. 2-16.