Voters who are going to the polls to vote in the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, or those who have already voted early, will see a lot of choices to make no matter where they live in Faribault County.

There were several seats on almost all of the governmental bodies that were open, including all of the mayors in the cities in Faribault County and open seats on the school boards, and in some cases there are contested seats on the ballot with more than one person having filed back in August.

Area School Boards

There are three members of the Blue Earth Area and United South Central school boards who have terms that are up and their positions will be on the ballot.

At USC those school board members are Mike Schrader, Brad Heggen and Chris Lutteke. Only the three incumbents filed and are on the ballot.

At BEA three incumbent board members, Lindsey Mensing, Jeff Eckles and Ted Armon are all on the ballot, as is newcomer Gary Armon.

One other person, Lisa Ertman, has officially declared herself to be a write-in candidate for the BEA School Board.

Residents of Faribault County who are also in other area school districts, such as Maple River, Granada-Huntley-East Chain and Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, will also receive ballots that include those school board member choices.

Ballots in the BEA School District will also contain a School District Question, which is Approval of School District Bond Issue.

The question reads:

Shall the school board of Independent School District No. 2860 (Blue Earth Area Schools) be authorized to issue its general obligation school building bonds in an amount not to exceed $66,845,000 to provide funds for the acquisition and betterment of school sites and facilities, including the construction and equipping of a new PreK-6 elementary school facility and additional gymnasium; the construction of additions, renovations, and improvements to the existing High School site and facility; and the decommissioning of the existing Elementary/Middle School facility?

City Councils

and Mayors

Most of the towns in Faribault County have the mayor position and at least two council seats that will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

In Blue Earth, the terms of mayor Rick Scholtes and council members John Huisman, Stephanie Walter and Mike McNerney are up, and all three filed to be on the ballot. Also, Lawrence Berg who filed for the council is on the ballot.

In Wells, the positions of mayor David Braun and council members Brenda Weber and Nancy Kruger are the ones that are open. Braun refiled for mayor and Weber and Krueger filed for council and they are on the ballot.

Winnebago mayor Jean Anderson and council members Chris Anderson and Tony O’Donnell have their terms up. Jean Anderson filed for mayor and incumbents Anderson and O’Donnell filed for council, as did Jane Sybrandt and all will be on the ballot.

In Bricelyn the mayor’s seat, held by John Goette, and the council positions of William Hagen and Wes Annabel are open.

Goette filed for mayor, as did current council member Doug Ellickson. His term is up in 2026 and should he be elected mayor, his council seat would need to be filled.

Filing for Bricelyn council positions were incumbent Hagen and newcomer Harold Albrant.

In Easton, the terms of mayor Barb Stiernagle and council members Jon Rath and Tony Stevermer are the ones that will be open. Stevermer was the only one listed on the Secretary of State’s website as having filed.

In Delavan the positions currently held by mayor Dan Haugh and city council members Dave Gayden, Max Abdo, (both 4-year terms), and Chris Kruse (2-year term) are open.

Abdo filed for mayor and Kruse filed for a 4-year council term. Lisa Schultz filed for the 2-year term and the other 4-year council seat had no one file.

Minnesota Lake mayor Jeff Ramsley and council members Edie More and Rob Stencel are the open positions. Ramsley filed for mayor and Shawn Morrison and Stencel filed for council.

Kiester mayor Hope Bauman and council members Kent Grobe and Brandon Hagenson have their terms up and all three filed for their positions.

In Elmore, the position of mayor Clara Veriede and council positions of Elton Rhoda and Sue Dickson (4-year terms) and Betty Myhrom (2-year term) are all open.

Elmore had a lot of filing activity. Zachary Dahl and Michael “Mike” Schutta both filed for mayor, and incumbent Vereide did not.

Dickson, Rhoda and Myhrom all filed for council, as did Jacob Burgett, Tyler Boettcher, Dave Davis and Babette Tallberg.

Frost mayor Robert (Bob) Loge is the only one who filed for the mayor’s position.

Three council seats are up for election in Frost, currently held by John Oswald, Lee Lincoln and Matt Gullord. All three filed, as did Patricia T. Boman.

County Offices

Voters in the Faribault County District 1 will see a choice on the ballot between incumbent John Roper and challenger Gertrude Paschke.

Voters in Commissioner District 5 will see only incumbent commissioner Bruce (Charlie) Anderson on the ballot. Likewise voters in Commissioner District 3 will see only incumbent William (Bill) Groskreutz Jr. on their ballots.

Other county offices on the ballot are Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor positions.

Quite a few township officials are also on the ballot.

State and Federal Offices

Voters in the eastern part of Faribault County that is part of State Representative District 23A will have a choice between incumbent Republican Peggy Bennett and DFL challenger Joe Staloch.

Voters in the western part of the county are in State Representative District 22A and have a choice between incumbent Republican Bjorn Olson and challenger Democrat Marisa Ulmen.

All voters in the county will see two choices for U.S. Representative for District 1 between incumbent Republican Brad Finstad and DFL challenger Rachel Bohman.

Voters will have several choices when it comes to selecting a Minnesota U.S. Senator. The choices are incumbent Democrat Amy Klobuchar and challengers Royce White (Republican), Joyce Lynne Lacey (Independence-Alliance) and Rebecca Whiting (Libertarian Party).

Minnesota voters will also be voting on a proposed amendment to change the Minnesota Constitution which would change the way state lottery proceeds are overseen and transfered.

All Minnesota voters have a choice between nine duos for President and Vice President.

They include Donald J. Trump and JD Vance (Republican), Kamala D. Harris and Tim Walz (DFL), Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat (Libertarian Party), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan (We The People), Jill Stein and Samson Kpadenou (Green Party), Claudia De las Cruz and Karina Garcia (Socialism and Liberation), Rachele Fruit and Dennis Richter (Socialist Workers Party), Cornel West and Melina Abdullah (Justice for All) and Shiva Ayyadural and Crystal Ellis (Independent).

Other ballot items

One ballot that county voters will see is the one that contains voting for judges. There are 15 contests listed, including three for the State Supreme Court, seven for the Court of Appeals and five for District Court.

Most are unopposed, but a couple do have a choice to make.

There is also a place to vote for a Special Election for Hospital District.