Northwest Iowa — This Tuesday, December 14th is election day for part of our area. But it’s a special election for one position for one year.
Redistricting completed this summer will mean that the current Senate District 1 will be split up into a number of districts, and the NEW District 1, won’t even be in our part of northwest Iowa — it’ll be in the Sioux City area. But, there is one more state legislative session before that happens, set to convene in January. And the resignation of State Senator Zach Whiting means the CURRENT District 1 is without a Senator. Whiting resigned to take a position in Texas. At this point, Senate District 1 includes Lyon, Osceola, Clay, Dickinson, and Palo Alto counties here in northwest Iowa.
There are two candidates vying for the office. They are Republican Dave Rowley and Democrat Mark Allen Lemke, both from Spirit Lake.
Neither of the candidates, should they win, would live in the right area to represent any of the four counties in our coverage area beyond this winter’s legislative session, as Spirit Lake will be part of the new District 5 for the 2023 session, for which voting will take place in November 2022. Osceola and O’Brien counties will be part of the new District 3, and Lyon and Sioux counties will be part of the new District 2.
If you live in the current District 1, click here to find your polling place.
Polls across the district are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. this Tuesday, December 14th. Absentee ballots that are still out can be turned in at your county auditor’s office until 4:30 this Tuesday afternoon or you can surrender them at the poll and vote at the poll.
