It was Election Day on Tuesday, November 2 and people across Wright County went out to the polls to decide city and school races.
Off-year elections do not typically see a lot of voter activity, but this year's election did see a bump in participation compared to similar elections of the past.
"The turnout was higher than I expected," said County Auditor Betty Ellis. "However, there were several towns that had contested races so that always brings out a higher turnout."
In total, 1,181 votes were cast out of 8,076 potential voters, bringing the turnout to 14.62%, which is higher than the turnout from 2017.
While the unofficial results of the election were posted late Tuesday night, just hours after the polls close, the election results are not official until confirming with the county supervisors. In the meantime, the county has been tabulating write-in votes, which will decide several races where nobody entered.
"Even though the election is over we still have a lot to do yet," said Ellis.
Once the results are official, it will be time to start preparing for the next election, which will be next year's June primaries.
One of the key challenges many auditors face will be finding volunteers to work the polls during Election Day, though Ellis says that Wright County has plenty of willing participants.
"We're very fortunate in Wright County to have people to work our polls," said Ellis. "We appreciate the work they do. It's quite a long day for them."
City Elections
From the latest unofficial election results, in Clarion, Mayor Duane Asbe decided not to run for re-election. The next mayor of Clarion will be Rodney Heiden, who won the election over Shayne Edward Hennigar with a 223-148 vote.
Three seats were open on the Clarion City Council. They will be filled by incumbent Dan Hennigar (234 votes), Nick McOllough (218 votes), and Dave Flurer (202 votes). Also running on the ballot was Larry Harrah (155 votes), Mark Hinton (143 votes), and Brandon Flurer (94 votes).
Over in Goldfield, Gabe Fiscus won an uncontested election for mayor with 41 votes. Three Goldfield council seats were also open, going to Anthony Meinke (39 votes), Marcy Duncalf (38 votes), and Marilyn Jill Sorensen (38 votes).
In Dows, Larry Klatt was uncontested in his run for Mayor of Dows, receiving 58 votes. There was a contested race for the three council seats, which will go to Craig Russell (53 votes), Richard Mark Echelberger (41 votes), and Loren Lienemann (41 votes). Also on the ballot was Christina Peterson with 37 votes.
In Eagle Grove, incumbent Mayor Sandy McGrath was re-elected in an uncontested race, receiving 97 votes. Walter Lorenzen will join the city council in the at-large seat, winning his race uncontested with 141 votes. Incumbent Matt Jergens will remain in the Ward 2 seat, winning his uncontested race with 30 votes. Finally, with nobody filing papers, the open Ward 4 seat will be decided by write-in vote.
In Belmond, incumbent Mayor Frank Bemino was re-elected with 274 votes. Three seats on the council were up for election. Incumbents Katie Schlichting and Jon Swenson were re-elected with 231 and 254 votes respectively. The third seat will be decided by write-in vote. Meanwhile, Kyle Tulp will finish the term of a vacant seat, receiving 279 votes.
Also in Belmond, Richard Rockow was uncontested in the race for park trustee, receiving 290 votes, and two hospital trustees will be chosen from the write-in votes.
In Galt, Steve Chambers won an uncontested race for mayor, receiving seven votes. One of the five open council seats will go to Zeke Rosales, who was the only candidate on the ballot and received seven votes. The remaining four will be chosen from among the write-ins.
In Rowan, Lennea Groom won an uncontested race for mayor, receiving ten votes. Three council seats were also on the ballot, going to Dale Hollman (13 votes), Marcos Hurtado (14 votes), and Virgil Park (14 votes).
Finally, in Woolstock, Broce Rholl won an uncontested race for mayor, receiving 28 votes. Three open council seats will go to Troy Kastler (31 votes), Scott Myers (25 votes), and Bart Green (15 votes). Also on the ballot was Tyler Kunz (eight votes), Ginerva Letts (12 votes), and Lucinda Stone (seven votes).
School Elections
For the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows school board there was little change. In District 2, incumbent Elizabeth Severson and Kelly Kirstein were the only two candidates for the two open seats, receiving 416 and 467 votes respectively. In District 3, incumbent Megan Ring was re-elected in an uncontested race with 501 votes.
Likewise in Eagle Grove, incumbent Aaron Parrott was re-elected for one of the two at-large seats, with the other going to the only other candidate on the ballot, Angie Capsel, receiving 232 and 128 votes respectively.
There was a contested race for the two at-large seats open in Belmond-Klemme. Incumbent Gary Berkland was re-elected for one of the seats with 330 votes while Heather Ridgeway (336 votes) ousted incumbent Marc Schlichting (256 votes). For the District 4 seat, incumbent Rick McDaniel was re-elected unopposed with 392 votes.
