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Darrel Van Aartsen, County Commissioner District 3

Lead Summary

The Star Herald asked candidates facing a primary election on Aug. 9 five questions to inform readers about themselves.
The five questions are:
 
1.) Community involvement
2.) Employment, education and family
3.) What made you decide to seek election/reelection to the County Board of Commissioners?
4.) How do you view the role of a commissioner in your community?
5.) What makes you the best candidate for the job?
 
 
Darrel Van Aartsen lives in Clinton Township and is a challenger for the District 3 county commissioner seat.
1.) I’ve lived in Rock county my entire life and have volunteered for a number of things over the years. Things such as deacon, elder, choir member and youth leader of my church, 4-H supporter, treasurer of Luverne Music Boosters, treasurer and board member of the Rock County Historical Society, volunteer of the Blue Mound Area Theatre/ Palace Theatre, actor in plays with the Green Earth Players, assisted with Tri-State Band Festival, ATLAS, Luverne’s Heritage Preservation Commission, etc.
2.) I am owner and employed by Van Aartsen Construction, Inc. I am a graduate of the Luverne High School. I’ve continued my education in the construction trade primarily through my dad along with continued education classes required by the state for my contractor’s license. I am married to LaDonna Van Aartsen. Our children are Brent (32) married to Amanda, Jonathon (27), and Mark (25) married to Katelyn.
3.) Over the past few years when I’ve visited with people about things going on in the county and they said to me, “You should run for county commissioner.” I thought about it some, but never went much farther. When the rural Internet possibility came up in the county it again was of great interest to me. I talked to a lot of people about it. I wondered what we needed to do to make this a reality. The importance of the Internet for all of us is vital. Most every business uses the Internet daily to function in their jobs and school students need it daily for homework. Again, I was told and encouraged to run for county commissioner. As I reviewed past Rock County board meeting minutes I realized that the decisions the board makes are important to me as well as my neighbors such as Lewis and Clark water supply and quality of life in Rock County. I’ve taken it more serious this time and decided to give it my best effort and filed to run for county commissioner. I read a quote on a mission trip I was on recently, “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in. – Author Unknown”. Even though you don’t necessarily volunteer to be county commissioner, you are elected. I do care about the kind of community I live in and I hope it can be the kind of community you want to live in too.
4.) A county commissioner plays an important role in our community to keep it strong and vital. They must do their best to control the budget and also know when it is important to spend money to advance and encourage growth in the community. They need to take a close look at the issue and listen to people within the community to make the best decision for all involved. It is not always an easy answer, but we must use all of the resources we have available to us to be well informed. I would take this responsibility very seriously.
5.) I am 57 years old. I was born here. I grew up only four miles from where I’ve lived the past 35 years. God willing, I plan to live right here for a number of years more. I live here, I work here, I play here, and I volunteer here. I want my community to thrive and will work hard to achieve it.

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