Northwest Iowa — The filing deadline for the November election has passed, and several people have thrown their hats into the ring. The election will focus on city and school candidates and questions.
In Osceola County, in the City of Ashton, Incumbent Mayor Patrick H. DeVries has filed to keep his position and is running unopposed. For Ashton City Council, three candidates have filed for three open positions. They are JoAnn Koedam, Douglas J. Konz, and incumbent Kay Winkel. They are all running unopposed.
In Harris, Russell Meier is on the ballot for Mayor. There are two city council positions open and three people want to fill them. They are incumbent Jeff Loring and challengers Glen DeVries and Larry Hegwer.
In Melvin, incumbent mayor Paul D. Heitritter is running unopposed to keep his chair. Three city council positions are open, and two incumbents have filed. They are Jeff Sorensen and Michael J. Wynja.
In Ocheyedan, Mayor Arlyn D. Pedley is running unopposed to keep his chair. There are two city council positions open, and one city council position to fill a vacancy, but no candidates have filed for any of the council spots, so the winners will probably be write-ins.
Sibley Mayor Jerry L. Johnson is running unopposed for his seat, as are At-Large Councilmember Larry Pedley, Ward 1 Councilmember Mitchell Ackerman, Ward 3 Councilmember Larry Stone, Ward 2 Councilmember LaDonn Hartzell. However, Hartzell’s is to fill a vacancy.
In the Sibley-Ocheyedan School District, Laurel Klaassen is running unopposed in District 1. District 3 Boardmember Jamie Arend is running unopposed, as is District 4 Boardmember Greg Atherton.
As far as O’Brien County:
Archer Mayor Nathan Mueller is running unopposed, as are three councilmembers: Jeremy Engel, Troy Iedema, and Branden Lehner. Aimee Mueller is running to fill a vacancy on the council.
In Calumet, Mayor Michael N. Jensen is running unopposed, as are Councilmembers Andrew Lichter and Regina Loshman.
Kim Mesenbrink is running to fill a vacancy on the Calumet Council.
Hartley Mayor Rodney E. Ahrenstorff is running unopposed. Five people are running for three positions on the Hartley City Council, including incumbents Ronald Glen Hengeveld, Brian Myers, and Mary Westphalen. Also running are Greg Cotter and Nickolas R. Galm.
In Paullina, Mayor John Ihle is being challenged by Brenda Ebel Kruse. Councilmembers Steven Heeren and Carol Honkomp are running unopposed for their seats.
Six people are vying for three positions on the Primghar City Council. Incumbents Tim Honkomp and Kenneth Miller are challenged by Kevin P. Kelleher, Darin Logan, Kayla Weishuhn, and Steve Wittrock.
Sanborn Mayor Randy Lyman is running unopposed, as are councilmembers Jerry Back and Larry Reitsma.
Click here for the Sheldon city and school races.
Sutherland Mayor Kay Gifford has filed papers to run and faces no opposition. For the Sutherland City Council, there are two open positions and four people that want to fill them. They are incumbent Johanna Homan, Tyler Draper, Devon Jones, and Gary Tunink.
Turning to school races, at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, the Director District 2 position will be available, but no one has filed papers to have their name on the ballot. Director District 3, Chad Lyman and Director District 5, Scott Vollink are both running unopposed.
At South O’Brien, Sue McCauley is running unopposed for Director District 1. There are no candidates for the available Director District 3 chair. Director District 6, Gina Paulsen is unopposed. Bobbi Honkomp and Joshua Rausch are running for the Director District 2 spot – to fill a vacancy.
The election will also include people running for Community College boards and ballot questions.
We’ll have the Lyon and Sioux County races in an upcoming story on KIWA and kiwaradio.com.
