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Spending, city projects lead council at large race
Money on the mind of mayoral candidatesBy Trey Mewes
In the end, money will decide the race forAustin’smayor.
IncumbentTomStiehmdefendshis recordas mayor of a booming city with improvingquality of life against challenger Dick Lang,who seeks to curb government spending andlower tax increases to residents. While bothcandidates want to cut costs, restrain spend-ing and keep taxes low, Lang campaigns re-fusing to raise taxes.
Langsaid thecity’s taxeshave increased44percent over the past eight years in a recentdebate between the two.
Yet Stiehm said it’s unrealistic to cutspending and refuse to raise taxes withoutcutting the services Austin residents havecome to expect.
“If you say you’re going to freeze thebudget, tell me what services you’re going tocut,” he said. “Whenwe go to the people withthese things, they don’t want services cut,they don’t want snowplows to wait untilmorning.”
Lang has picked up and run a variety ofbusinesses and has served on the Austin CityCouncil and the Mower County Board. His
time on the board was dominated by buildingtheMowerCounty Jail and Justice Center.
“If we wouldn’t have built a new jail, wewouldhavehad toclose it,”he said, adding thecounty would have to ship inmates to othercounties, which would have been more ex-pensive in the long run.
Stiehm isno stranger to thenew jail issue,as he was one of several local officials advo-cating for the jail to come downtown.
“When I got inmy first term, that was ba-sically the issue,” he said.
Stiehm served in the Marine Corps, thenworked as a police officer inAustin before be-coming mayor. He lauds the city’s success inencouraging growth and expansion amonglocal businesses and cutting the budget in re-cent years despite cuts in Local GovernmentAid.
The city is pursuing synergy with thecounty, like the new street cleaning machinewhichboth city andcounty employeeswill beable to use, he added.
Following a term length change voters en-acted last year, whoever wins will be mayorfor the next four years.
Look for an in-depth story at www.austindailyherald.com/category/election2012.
Austin Mayor Tom Stiehm, right, and opponent Dick Lang take part in a roundtable debatewith moderators Eric Olson of KSMQ and Trey Mewes of the Austin Daily Herald at theKSMQ studios earlier this month. Herald file photo
By Kevin Coss
City spending and vari-ous projects will take prior-ity in the race for councilmember at large.Newcomer Alex Mayfield
runs against incumbentJanet Anderson for the seatthis November. Anderson, ifreelected, would be enteringher third two-year term onthe council.Mayfield said his focus if
he were elected would be tohelp local businesses de-velop. A stronger local econ-omy would make Austinmore attractive to familiesand businesses alike. Ingeneral, voters he has spo-
ken with told Mayfield theywant to see little changes,not anything substantial.
See AT LARGE, Page 4MayfieldAnderson
AustinCity
CouncilAt Large
2 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD
By Kevin Coss
The leader of the Min-nesota DFL Party identifiedthe District 27A Representa-tive seat as one of the party’stop targets come November.Incumbent Rep. Rich Mur-
ray, R-Albert Lea, who wonhis seat in 2010, will face offagainst former Wells MayorShannon Savick, a DFLer,and former New Market CityCouncil Member WilliamWagner, I-Geneva.DFL Party Chairman Ken
Martin of Eagan said withclose legislative margins in
both the House and the Sen-ate, the party is working dili-gently to overtake Murray,who is running for his secondterm.Murray, owner of ISC Fi-
nancial Advisors, said he wasnot surprised the DFLers aretargeting his seat because ofthe margin of victory in the2010 race.“But I’m not worried about
it,” Murray said. “We’re outworking pretty hard. I’m get-ting very positive feedback allover the district.”He emphasized the need
for legislators from both par-
ties to work togetherSavick, who worked in the
computer industry for 28years and is currently re-tired, opposes cuts in LocalGovernment Aid. She saidshe saw a $200,000 cut inWells’ LGA her first year asmayor, and a $250,000 cut thenext year. At one point, shehad to ask herself if sheshould fire a police officer orraise taxes.“I don’t think we’re being
represented rightly with thecurrent Legislature,” shesaid.She also pointed out the
importance of investing ineducation because havingskilled workers is what willattract high-tech companies.Wagner agreed, saying his
top priority is to see better-paying jobs brought to Min-nesotans. He is also anadvocate for improving edu-cation.
He ran for office againstformer District 27A Rep.Robin Brown in 2008. Wagnerowns a small hobby farmwith goats, pigs and a cow.
—Sarah Stultz contributedto this report.
Two candidates challenge Murray for House 27A seat
Savick Murray
Minn. HouseDistrict 27A
—The Herald was unable toget a photo of William Wag-
ner, I-Geneva
Squared up in the state
VOTERS’ GUIDE • ELECTION 2012 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 3
By Kevin Coss
Incumbent JeannePoppe, DFL-Austin, will take on challengerNathan Neitzell, R-Austin, at theNov. 6 election for the Representa-tive District 27B seat.
At an Oct. 2 debate sponsoredby theDailyHerald andKSMQbe-tween the two contenders, Neitzellcalled for constitutional amend-ments like theupcomingmarriage
and voter ID issues to be moreprevalent in the future for anymajor change that would affecteverybody.
“I strongly disagree with theidea that lawmakershave the rightto change our constitution or theway that the fiber of America hasbeen put in place,” he said.
Poppe pushed the opposite di-rection, saying the point of havingelected officials is to allow them to
represent their district. Constitu-tional amendments are amoreper-manent way to change the lawthan passing legislative bills,whichmay not be good for certainissues.
“I really do believe that weshould have a higher threshold,”Poppe said.
In other issues, Neitzell prefersthe government to takeahands-offapproach and limit regulations on
small businesses and farms.Poppe, on the other hand, believesthe Legislature should do what itcan to help farms and provide sub-sidies when necessary.
Poppe, currently on her fourthterm in office, works as an educa-tor. Neitzell owns real estate and asign company.
Look for an in-depth story atwww.austindailyherald.com/category/election2012.
Poppe, Neitzell vary on Legislature’s role
Poppe Neitzell
Minn. House Dis-trict 27B
By Kevin Coss
Incumbent Sen.DanSparks,DFL-Austin, will face offagainst newcomer Linden An-derson,R-Waltham, for theDis-trict 27 Senate seat at theNov. 6election.
At an Oct. 2 debate spon-sored by the Daily Herald andKSMQ, Sparks emphasized hisbipartisan accomplishments,
including his efforts with Rep.Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea, toease regulatory stress onsmaller energy companies.
“Weneed to seemore of thatin St. Paul, and less of the bick-ering and gridlock,” he said.
Anderson said he had aknack for seeing both sides ofan issue because he knows peo-ple from all walks of life.
“I’m running on a Republi-
can ticket, but I’m not sureyou’re going to find any localunion presidents running onthat ticket,” he said.
In light of the two stateamendment changes that willshow up on November’s ballot,both candidates said theywould like to see it take morethan a simple majority in theLegislature to get such amend-ments on the ballot. They also
underlined the importance ofthe Local GovernmentAid pro-gram.
Anderson does fieldwork asa resourcemanagement techni-cian for the DNR. Sparks is onhis third term in theSenate andworks as a loan officer inAustin.
Look for an in-depth story atwww.austindailyherald.com/category/election2012.
Dan Sparks,DFL-Austin(Incumbent)
LindenAnderson,
R-Albert Lea
Minn.SenateDistrict27
“I’m notsureyou’regoing tofind anylocalunion
presidentsrunningon thatticket.”
-LindenAnderson
“We needto seemore ofthat in St.Paul, andless of thebickeringand
gridlock.”
-DanSparks
Herald file photos
Sparks, Anderson hope to cutgridlock in state government
4 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD
Newcomers will fill two Austin Council seatsBy Kevin Coss
Twonewcomers to theAustinCityCoun-cil will vie for a Ward 1 seat soon to be va-cant.Longtime council mem-
berBrianMcAlisterhasde-cided not to run forreelection on his councilseat this year, leaving itopen. Graphic artistMichael Jordal contendswith former school admin-istrator Malcolm McDon-ald for the spot at theNov. 6election.“My sense is that people
are quite happy with howthings are operating in ourcity,”McDonald said.Most people seem con-
tent with the services thecity renders, he said. Theyappreciate the flowers displayeddowntown,the autumn leaf removal and the bike trailexpansions.“I think it's just an assumption that
everything is well,” he summarized.Jordal found residents to be more con-
cerned, with one of their principal worriesbeing the neglected properties in Ward 1
and around the city.“A lot of the residents I've been talking
to are unhappy with houses in their neigh-borhoods that are kind of in disrepair,” hesaid.
Other complaintsincluded rising prop-erty taxes, especiallysome of the largerhikes in recent yearsthat Jordal said havebeen“a littleharder toswallow.”Jordal said he ex-
pects McDonald's ex-tensive work in thepublic sector will givehim some differentperspectives on issuesaround the city.McDonald had a
similar opinion,pointing to his career
as a factor inwhat voterswill look forwhenthe election comes around.“Obviously, there's a substantial differ-
ence in our experience and age,” he said,highlighting his time in the military andeducation administration. “Those skillswill be beneficial sitting on the City Coun-cil.”
By Kevin Coss
No matter what voters decide, Austinresidents can count on a few new namesdotting the roster of their elected rep-resentatives.
The Nov. 6 electionwill choose betweentwo newcomers to fillthe Austin City Coun-cil seat left vacant byCouncil Member Mar-ian Clennon, who de-cided to run for mayorrather than seek re-election. Real estatebroker Jeremy Car-olan contends with for-mer PlanningCommission ChairLynn Spainhower forthe Ward 3 council seat.
Spainhower said the residents shehas spoken to have money on the mind.
“A lot of what they're concernedabout is property tax values,” she said.They also worry about where themoney will come from for the commu-
nity betterment project Vision 2020, andwhether they will have to foot the bill,she added.
She intends to help push the Vision2020 project forwardand fight against cutsto Local GovernmentAid.
Carolan said hewas optimistic aboutthe race.
“I'm anticipatinghopefully a win,” hesaid. “I think it'd beenjoyable to be on thecouncil.”
He said he hasn'tseen his opponenttake a specific posi-tion on any matters,
nor have voters told him about any is-sues they consider to be critical to theirchoice in council member.
Look foran in-depth storyof thisandeveryAustinCityCouncil race atwww.austindaily-herald.com/category/election2012.
McDonald, Jordal running in Ward 1 Spainhower, Carolan running in Ward 3
Carolan Spainhower
Austin City CouncilWard 3
Jordal McDonald
Austin City CouncilWard 1
They want more businesses in town,cleanparksandenough lawenforcement andfire staff to keep the city safe.
“There’s the typical complaints on taxes,”he added. “I really don’t want to changetaxes.”Flood mitigation and the green initia-
tive-based Sustainability Task Force topthe list for Anderson’s focal points.“It is one of the city priorities,” said
Anderson, who sits on the task force asthe council’s representative. “The goalwas to get more citizen involvement andwork toward ideas, discussion and aware-ness.”Flood mitigation is important for the
city, and Anderson said she would alsolike to see the city back the efforts of thecommunity betterment project Vision2020. Sometimes that means bringing theright people to the table, she added, andstressed that the city is “not an opencheckbook by any means.”Mayfield studies math at Riverland
right now, but said he is considering
switching to political science.Anderson has previous experience on
the City Council and the Planning Com-mission and works in promotion andmarketing at KAAL TV.This upcoming term will be the last
two-year term for a council member atlarge. In 2014, the office will switch toa four-year term.
The Austin City Council’s Ward 2 seat onthe ballot this year is a no-contest race.
Incumbent Steve King runs unopposed forreelectionafterno challenger threwahat in thering during the filing period that ended inJune.He is finishinguphis first termasa coun-cil member, and expects the big projects facingAustin right nowwill easily keep the city occu-pied for the next term.
“We’ll be pretty busy in the next four yearswith The Hormel Institute expansion and theflood mitigation program,” King said in earlyJune. The city’s involvement with the commu-
nitybettermentprogramVision 2020 could alsokeep the council’s agenda full, he added.
“I don’t know that with those three initia-tives we’ll have room on our plate for anymore,” he said.
The Austin native has been director ofMower County Corrections at the courthousefor thepast sevenyears,whereheworks inpro-bationandparole.He spent about 20years awayfrom the city beforehe returned toAustin, dur-ing which he worked for the Department ofCorrections in the Twin Cities and supervised14 different counties. In total, he has about 25years experience in the corrections industry.
—By Kevin Coss
King unopposed
At Large: Riverland student challenging incumbent for city seatFrom Page 1
Kevin PurrierKevin Purrier, who has lived in Brownsdale
for about 10 years andworks forAlli Rolloff Com-pany, has been on the city council for two yearsand is the only incumbentre-running.
Like others, he wouldlike to see continued infra-structure improvements,such as sidewalk repairs.
A serious problem hementioned is a leaky sewersystem. While he hopes forcontinued repairs, hewouldlike to tackle any majorproblems right away.
“Whenwe canpinpoint amajor problem, I would liketo see that get fixed right away,” he said.
Like others, Purrier would like to see morebusinesses come to town. He also hopes improve-ments at the park will happen this time around.
Purrier wants the citizens of Brownsdale tobe educated about what’s happening. He encour-ages them to come to council meetings, read pastminutes and spread word about the issues.
Al YatesAl Yates has been a Brownsdale resident for
nearly 10 years, alongwithhiswife,whohas livedin the area for more than 30 years.
Yates is running for council because hewantsto seeBrownsdale rejuvenated, economically and
visually.“It seems
like some of thearea is slippingwhere some ofthe rental prop-erties are be-coming beachslum properties almost,”Yates said.
The Yates’ opened An-tiques to Rummage aboutthree years ago and are fo-cused on the revitalization ofBrownsdale’s business scene,which has already been hap-pening during the past yearand a half.
Yates said he would op-pose raising taxes, but sup-port redistributingmoney inother areas, such as the park. He wants to workmore with the downtown business people toreestablish and strengthen the retail scene, too.
“I just think I have an interest and desire tosee the town grow,” Yates said. “That was my
main reason forsigning up. It’s justtime for changedown there.”
Eugene Crab-tree
EugeneCrabtree has beena Brownsdale resident forroughly 34 years and lived inthe area even longer.
“One of my main con-cerns is to have a gameplanfor issues five and 10 yearsdown the road for what weshould be doing each year asfar as infrastructure,” Crab-tree said.
Crabtree, who runs Crab-tree Lawn and Snow, would
also like to see a better plan for general upkeeparound town.
He wants to address issues well in advance,such as thosewith city infrastructure like streetsand sewers, instead of waiting until they becomeimmediate issues, he said, and added that mayhelp keep the budget in line, instead of doing a“fix it as it happens” approach.
“Back when I was younger, I didn’t thinkabout politics that much,” Crabtree said. “Nowthat I’m at this age, I see things going on. It’s justthat I feel obligated.”
While Crabtree has not served on the councilbefore, he hopes to bring a “breath of fresh air” todecisionmaking in Brownsdale.
Aronn Oakland and Liberty Barnesdid not return calls for comment.
Jeff FosterAmanwho has lived in Brownsdale all
of his life says he has what it takes to bemayor. And his goals are simple.“If you’d like to see taxes lowered and
less government, I’myour candidate,” saidmayoral candidate Jeff Foster.Foster has done construction with his
father for many years and notices the is-sues in Brownsdale, he said.“Taxes keep going up,” Foster said. “I’d
like to keep taxes down.”Foster also realizes the importance of
city street and sewer improvements inBrownsdale and would like to keep mak-ing those at timeswhen the city can affordit. And for the businesses and residents,he’d like to see limited government over-sight.“We’re a small town,” Foster said. “I’m
not for big-city government. And I don’t
thinkweneedall the rules and regulationsthat bigger cities have for small-town liv-ing.”Foster added he was previously on the
city council and has experience, narrowlylost themayoral race last year and that hisfather was also mayor of Brownsdale formany years.
Carol LarickLongtime Brownsdale visitor and now
nine-year resident of the town Carol Lar-ick is putting in her bid formayor.Like others, she is concerned about the
infrastructure.“We have issues in the city that need to
be addressed now,” Larick said in anemail. “Manyof our side-walks arebadly deterio-rated; thelack of main-tenance of
real estate by absentee owners; animalcontrol in certain parts of town; lack ofpromoting new businesses — just to men-tion a few.”Larick is a retired business owner who
ran Past and Present in Brownsdale withher husband and previously raised short-horn cattle inWisconsin.Because she is retired, Larick said she
is a good candidate for mayor as the cur-rentmayorwearsmanyhats. Shewants tosee a more proactive council with fewertabled decisions. Larick prides herself onresponsibility.“Goodmanagement andaccountability
is what every public official owes to thepeople that elect them,” she said.
David PikeI n c umb en t
David Pike isrunning for hissecond term asmayor of
Brownsdale.The 41-year Brownsdale resident, fire
chief and deputy said he has the experi-ence to lead.“I’ve got considerable experiencework-
ing in city offices,” he said, adding that hehas 20 years’ experience working for thepublic.Pike said infrastructure maintenance
is a priority for the city, especially lookinginto a wellhead protection program andmonitoring for possible sources of con-tamination in the water supply.“We’re looking at continuing a lot of
our infrastructure maintenance,” headded.Among those issues, Pike wants to see
the business scene keep improving as ithas and see improved safety in the workenvironment for workers in certain sec-tors.“Providinga safeworking environment
to the employees,” Pike said, “That’s theother priority.”
VOTERS’ GUIDE • ELECTION 2012 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 5
Stories byMatt Peterson
YatesPurrier Crabtree
Three run for mayor
Five vie for council
The battle for Brownsdale
Associated Press
PENSACOLA, Fla. — One fi-nal jobs report before ElectionDay and the big storm threaten-ing the East Coast loom large asPresident Barack Obama andRepublicanMitt Romney are inthe final full week of campaign-ing in a race polls show is ex-traordinarily close.Democrats claim math is on
the president’s side. Republi-cans insistRomney’s got themo-mentum.“We’re seeingmore andmore
enthusiasm, andmore andmoresupport,” a confident Romneysays inmessages to supporters,arguing that his performancesin the threepresidential debateshas reinvigoratedhis campaignand created a national move-ment.
Obama is banking on his get-out-the-vote efforts in the mostcompetitive states. He’s alsomaking personal appeals as heencourages Americans to stickwithhim for a second term.Dur-ing a whirlwind tour last weekthrough some of the most piv-otal states, he said, “After allthese years, you know me. Youknow Imeanwhat I say.”In pursuit of the 270 electoral
votes for victory, each nomineeis starting to make his closingarguments. The goal is to winover the narrow slice of unde-cided, independent voters,mod-erates andwomen in particular,and to persuade supporters tovote on Nov. 6, if not earlier inthemany states where voting isunderway.Roughly one-third ofthe electoratewill havevotedbe-fore Election Day.
The question now iswhetherthe momentum Romney pickedup after the debates is growingand can overcome the presi-dent’s strong voter-identifica-tion and early voting efforts inthe tightest states.The campaigns are scram-
bling to tweak schedules, shiftmanpower and pump millionsof more dollars into TV ads inthe nine states that will deter-
mine the outcome.Deep-pocket-ed outside groups are paying fordirect mail, automated phonecalls and other get-out-the-voteefforts.Total campaign spendinghas
exceeded $2 billion,making thispresidential race the most ex-pensive in the history of elec-toral politics.But there’s a risk that all
those commercials, phone callsandmailings have causedmanypeople to tune out.“I’m so sick of those com-
mercials,” saidCoraBlakey, a re-tiree who stood in long lineswith about 13,000 people to seeObama last week at an outdoorpark inLasVegas. “Everybody’sbashing everybody. When theycome on, I turn the channel.”Any number of factors still
could shift the race.
6 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD
Should the Minnesota Constitution be amended toprovide that only a union of one man and one woman
shall be valid or recognized as a marriage inMinnesota?
� If the marriage amendment fails, it would not legalize gay marriage. Itwould not change the law, as it is not legal for same-sex couples to wed in
Minnesota.
� If the marriage amendment passes, it would define marriage as betweenone man and one woman in the stateʼs constitution, a change that would
be difficult to undo.
� There is no neutrality on the ballot. Those who vote in other races butdonʼt check ʻyesʼ or ʻnoʼ are essentially ʻnoʼ votes, since the amendment
needs a majority of all votes cast to pass, not a majority ofthe votes cast for the amendment.
An in-depth analysis of this amendment with localreaction at: austindailyherald.com/2012/10/29/
special-report-a-question-of-belief/
Voters have future in their handsAMENDMENTS WILL SHAPE MINNESOTA’S TOMORROW
� If the voter ID amendment does not pass, the voting system will remain as-is.
� If the voter ID amendment passes, voters will be required to present agovernment-issued photo ID before receiving a ballot. If a voter cannot
provide that ID, he or she could instead cast a provisional ballot that mustthen be certified. Absentee voters would be subject to the same ID and
eligibility verification as in-person voters.
� There is no neutrality on the ballot. Those who vote in other races butdonʼt check ʻyesʼ or ʻnoʼ are essentially ʻnoʼ votes, since the amendment
needs a majority of all votes cast to pass, not a majority ofthe votes cast for the amendment.
An in-depth analysis of this amendment with localreaction at: austindailyherald.com/2012/10/29/
special-report-who-are-you/
Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to re-quire all voters to present valid photo identification tovote and to require the state to provide free identifica-
tion to eligible voters, effective July 1, 2013?
Obama Romney
Campaigns eye prize in final full week
VOTERS’ GUIDE • ELECTION 2012 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 7
COUNTY OFFICESSoil and Water District 1James GebhardtSoil and Water District 2Richard D. GehlingSoil and Water District 5Jon W. Erichson
CITY OFFICESAustin Utility Board Commis-sioner (vote for 3)Peter HandkeThomas C. BaudlerJames R. SchroederTom ShermanVince LynchAdams mayorLeroy F. SwansonAdams council (vote for 2)Mark AndersonBarry J. KurtzDexter mayorRandy StephensonDexter council (vote for 2)Kathy SnyderCasey ErwinElkton mayorMike OʼConnorElkton council (vote for 2)
Rod SprauGrand Meadow mayorDennis G. BergeJim BlomgrenG.M. council (vote for 2)Travis WarmkaTory PaulSandra K. FentonGrand Meadow city councilspecial election (vote for 1)Paul PersonsLyle mayorRick B. MatterJim GuthmillerLyle council (vote for 2)Gary HarrisonSteve BaumannJeremy MlenarJackie HolstPat BranchaudMapleview mayorLarry A. NaatzArnie JohnsonMapleview council (vote for 2)Richard LamaackSimon (Pete) HancockJody MensKristine FinleyRacine mayor
Deri NordsvingRacine council (vote for 2)Paul ThompsonTerry JohnsonRacine city councilspecial election (vote for 1)John RennRose Creek mayorPete KuhlmannRose Creek council (vote for 2)Kent UlwellingWendel R. SprungSargeant mayorJim JensenSargeant council (vote for 2)Jim WagonerJody J. JohnsonArletta BungumTaopi mayorNo candidatesTaopi council (vote for 1)No candidatesTaopi city clerk (vote for 1)No candidatesWaltham mayorNorbert EggertWaltham council (vote for 2)Erik PetersonJustin Hulst
TOWNSHIP OFFICESBennington Township Super-visor Seat B (vote for 1)Mark CarmanBennington Township Super-visor Seat Cspecial election (vote for 1)Robert KauffmannBennington TownshipClerk-Treasurer (vote for 1)Elizabeth RiceFrankford Township Supervi-sor Seat A (vote for 1)Ron VogtFrankford Township Supervi-sor Seat C (vote for 1)Bob (Robert) BaarschFrankford Township Clerk(vote for 1)Diane HansonGrand Meadow Township Su-pervisor Seat B (vote for 1)James T. JacobsonSargeant Township Supervi-sor Seat B (vote for 1)Randall GronsethSargeant Township Clerk(vote for 1)Joanne Kiser
TOWNSHIP QUESTIONSBennington Township question 1Shall option D, providing for thecombining of the offices of clerkand treasurer as an [elected]position, be adopted?Bennington Township question 2Shall option B, providing for theappointment of the clerk-trea-surer by the town board, beadopted? (Note: Approval ofoption B is contingent on the si-multaneous approval of optionD.)Sargeant Township question 1Shall the term of office for atown supervisor be for 6 years?
SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICESGrand Meadow School board(vote for 3)Wanda EdgeJon OehlkeJudy Thorsen
STATE JUDICIAL OFFICES(vote for 1 in all races)Supreme Court Chief JusticeLorie Skjerven Gildea
Dan GriffithSupreme Court AssociateJustice 1Dean BarkleyBarry AndersonSupreme Court AssociateJustice 4Tim TingelstadDavid R. StrasCourt of Appeals Judge 6Renee L. WorkeCourt of Appeals Judge 7Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks3rd District Court Judge 1Christina K. Stevens3rd District Court Judge 2John T. Cajacob3rd District Court Judge 4Jeffrey D. Thompson3rd District Court Judge 5Ross L. Leuning3rd District Court Judge 9Robert Birnbaum3rd District Court Judge 10Debra Ann Jacobson3rd District Court Judge 12Christine A. Long3rd District Court Judge 15Joesph F. Chase
Other races on local ballots
By Matt Peterson
Brownsdale residents will havethe power to change a key Sundaybusiness regulation in their com-munityduring this year’s election.
Among voting for their candi-dates of choice, locals will vote onwhether they want to allow Sun-day liquor salesat restaurants.Thedecision could be a big, positivechange for one local business: theFrontier Lounge.
“I just think it would help thetownbecome a littlemore vibrant,
and I think it will be very nice tohave it,” said Kevin Linbo, one offour owners of the FrontierLounge.
Linbo also owns Skjenke BomLounge inGrandMeadowandsaidSunday is one of his busiest daysin that town, as people come forsports games, atmosphere andfamily dining.
Linbo opened the FrontierLounge in summer2011with threeco-owners, Dan Linbo, Steve Mor-ganandDeanBraaten.Theownersone year ago pushed for a special
election, so they could get Sundayliquor sales allowed in Browns-dale. However, because of highcosts to thecity, theywaited for thisyear’s actual election.TheBrowns-dale City Council voted monthsago to put the option on this year’sballot.
Linbo said Sunday liquor saleswouldbeawin-winsituation forheand the townashewouldbeable togenerate more revenue whiledrawing more people to Browns-dale and helping other businesses.
Just down the street from the
Frontier Lounge, owners ofLangtry Cafe, Steve and CherylNagel, indicated they would notapply foraSunday liquor license iftheballot questionpasses.Becauseof their hours and their atmos-phere, they don’t think theywouldbenefit from it. However, they stillsupport the idea and see how itcould benefit the town.
“We’re not against it,” Cherylsaid. “We’re happy for them,though. Go for it.”
If residents vote to allow Sun-day liquor sales, the Brownsdale
CityCouncilmust thenvote on theissue at one of its meetings, aswell.
Brownsdale to vote on Sunday liquor salesShall special licenses begranted in the City of
Brownsdale for the sale ofintoxicating liquor onSundays only to a
restaurant, club or hotelwhich has an on-sale
liquor license and facilitiesfor serving not less than 25
guests at one time?
8 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD
Associated Press
Candidates battling for Minnesota’s U.S.Senate seat distinguish the race with deeppolicy differences and no reluctance fromeither to fling tough rhetoric.
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchargoes head-to-head against Republican stateRep. Kurt Bills, R-Rosemount, at the Nov. 6election. The two focus on the federalbudget, taxes, spending and jobs, but alsodebate foreign policy and veterans issues,global warming and energy, agricultureand trade policy, and social issues.
The candidates displayed wide differ-ences on fiscal policy. While both acknowl-edged the need to address the massivefederal debt and deficit, Klobuchar calledfor spending cuts mixed with allowing the
expiration of President George W. Bush-era tax cuts on yearly income above$250,000. She said that alone would raise anadditional $700 billion a year.
“That’s a big chunk of change. It mustbe a balanced approach,” she said at a Min-nesota State Fair debate.
Bills, a high school economics teacher,called instead for implementation of a 1980flat tax proposal floated by a pair of think-tank economists. He said it would treat alltaxpayers the same, make filing taxes eas-ier and zero out tax loopholes.
“You want to get rid of loopholes for thewealthy, I’m your guy because I’ll get rid ofall of them,” Bills said.
Klobuchar ridiculed Bills for state leg-islation he sponsored to make gold and sil-ver coins legal tender.
“I don’t believe that’s where Minnesotais headed,” Klobuchar said.
In turn, Bills returned to a commentKlobuchar made that her main prioritywas helping the middle class.
“If you actually cared about the middleclass, you’re looking at them,” Bills said.“Trust me, I’m well within the middleclass. I’d be proud to be the poorest mem-ber of the U.S. Senate. Maybe you need tostart sending people like me to the U.S. Sen-ate.”
Bills painted Klobuchar as a creature ofWashington and said Congress needs newfaces to take on the country’s biggest chal-lenges.
“This election is not Republican versusDemocrat anymore,” Bills said. “It’s Amer-ica versus Washington, D.C.”
US Senate race markedby sharp contrasts
Kurt Bills,Republican
Amy Klobuchar,Democrat(Incumbent)
USSenate
“Americacan nolongerafford tobe a
countrythatsimplychurnsmoneyand
shufflespaper onWall Street
— acountrythat
consumes,imports,and
spends itsway tohugetradedeficits.”
—From
www.klobuchar.
senate.gov
“In orderto grow
private-
sector jobs,
wemust
cut
spending
by the
federal
govern-
ment.
Don’t fall
for the
utopian
plans of
Democrats
or Repub-
licanswho
claim that
they can
‘create
jobs.’”
—From
www.kurtbills.
com
Herald file photos
More coverage on every local race: austindailyherald.com/category/election2012—Videos of debates between Austin mayoral candidates and MN House and Senate candidates
—Links to a local sample ballot, a polling place locator, voting district maps and more—In-depth profiles on candidates for MN House and Senate, Austin mayor and city council, Austinschool board, county commissioners, and an analysis on the voter ID and marriage amendments
—And much more, all at austindailyherald.com/category/election2012
VOTERS’ GUIDE • ELECTION 2012 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 9
The Mankato Free Press
The race for U.S. Congress inMinnesota’s District 1 will comedown to matters like spending cutsand small-business regulation.
Incumbent Tim Walz, a three-term Democrat from Mankato,takes on Republican challengerAllen Quist, a retired farmer andformer state legislator, at the Nov. 6election.
Disputesbetween the candidateshave centered on whether govern-ment policies and investments canspur private sector growth orwhether the only real hope for eco-
nomic improvement is to reduce taxand regulatory burdens on privatebusinesses.
“It’s not one or the other,” Walzsaid when asked during aMankatodebate if new technologies shouldbedevelopedby theprivate sectororpublic investment. Governmentgrantshavebeencrucial indevelop-ing public universities, scientificdiscoveriesandcures todiseases,hesaid. Those investments must con-tinue even as federal deficits are re-duced.
“That doesn’t make us social-ists,” he said. “That makes ussmart.”
While Quist said he doesn’t op-pose all government research, hesupports deep cuts in federal spend-ing outside of Social Security,Medicare, veterans benefits, aid tocollege students and road andbridge funding. In the long term,maintaining beneficial federal pro-gramsrequires toughchoices in theface of trillion-dollar annualdeficits.
Along with spending cuts, pro-business policies are required toboost economic growth — and thejobs and tax revenue that comeswith it, according to Quist.
“To get our financial house in
order, we have to unleash the lionof free enterprise,” he said, sug-gesting his policies could morethan double recent U.S. economicgrowth rates.
Walz said he wouldn’t supportchanging the Medicare programto one where future recipients re-ceive a federal voucher to buy pri-vate insurance,
Quist said the Affordable CareAct—also called “Obamacare”—reform supported by Walz inter-jects government deeply into thehealth care system and will in-evitablymake it less efficient andmore bureaucratic.
Quist, Walz focus on spending
Walz Quist
US CongressDistrict 1
By Trey Mewes
Aftermore than a year’sworthof issues and two replacementboard members, Lyle residentswill pick from five candidates tofill threeLylePublic SchoolBoardseats and continue theworkboardmembers have done this year tosteady the district.
Incumbents JessieMeyer, DanKing and Jerry Sampson are upfor reelection, while newcomersBrookeKlabunde and JoelNelsonare seeking their first term.Sampson replaced former boardmember Scott Nelson, who re-signed from the board last No-vember.Board member Brandon
Slowinski’s seat is also up for elec-tion, though under different cir-cumstances. Slowinski replacedformer board chairman DeanRohne, who stepped down in Jan-uary during a much-publicizedcontroversy concerning formersuperintendent/principal JimDusso’s leadership. ThoughSlowinski was appointed by theboard, he must go through a spe-cial election to serve the remain-ing two years of what was onceRohne’s term.Yet the board and district have
by and large put such troubles be-hind them, as many of the candi-dates are focused on impendingissues such as Lyle’s use of tech-nology in education and seeking a
long-term administration.“Our biggest thing is the ad-
ministration, getting our admin-istration set,” said Slowinski,whohopes to continue as a boardmember and serve the commu-nity.“I think it’s worth every
minute of my time,” he said.Lyle was supposed to share a
superintendent with GrandMeadow and Glenville/Emmonsunder a consortium agreement,but the district was forced tomake its own way after long-time
superintendent JerryReshetar re-signed from Lyle in early 2011.Though current Lyle superin-tendent/principal Joe Guanellawill serve until June, boardmem-bers have a choice to makewhether to find its own superin-tendent and principal or to sharesuperintendents once again.“That’s our biggest thing, is
finding the best leadership for ourdistrict,” said King. King said heis running for reelection to con-tinuekeeping the schools safe andproviding quality education forstudents.Klabunde, who has four chil-
dren in the district, says shewants to see the district pursuetechnological improvements
wisely and said she would be ableto provide a balanced voice to theboard.“I’ll have an educated, fair
opinion and weigh the issuescompletely before I make a deci-sion,” she said.For Sampson, who previously
served as a board member forseven years in the ‘90s, Lyle’s pur-suit of technology is important tomake sure Lyle students areahead of the educational curve.“Technology seems to be one
of the best investments, and that’swhere we’re heading, for sure,”Sampson said. “It’s just a matterof doing themostwe canwith theamount of money we’re given tokeep the school solvent.”
Administration, technology focus in Lyle
By Trey Mewes
The Hayfield Public SchoolBoard race is a bit crowded thisyear.
Six candidates are vying forfour seats, with incumbents Kath-leen Hegna-Zelinske and CraigPesch joining challengers LisaBungum, Kelly Caspers, Christo-pher Ebeling andDougWaldner in
the race.“School’s always been impor-
tant tome,”Casper,whogrewup inthe area, said. “I just kind of wantto contribute back.”
Caspers said the most impor-tant issues the district is facing in-cludes keeping the budget in checkand retaining students.
“Thebiggest thing is going to bethebudget,” she said. “You’re going
to have to keep it in check.”Bungum feels the same, though
she said increased communicationbetween the board, faculty, admin-istration and community couldhelp solve retention issues if stu-
dents knew more about resourceslike ACT prep and homework helpthey could be taking advantage of.
“I really feel strongly that team-work between a board member,teachers, students and the commu-nity need to be highlighted,”Bungum said.
Hegna-Zelinske shares theseviewpoints. As a three-term boardmember, she also is focused on
making sureHayfield can properlyuse classroom technology to en-sure students are keeping trackwith their peers in the area andstate.
“That’s the future for the kids,”she sad. “All the other school dis-tricts you see have laptops, oriPads, or some sort of technologythe kids use. We need to keepmov-ing forwardwith that.”
Hayfield school candidates look to budget
Meyer and Nelsondid not return
calls for comment.
—Eberling, Pesch andWald-ner did not returncalls for comment.
10 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD
Candidates seeking LeRoy area seatsBy Matt Peterson
Kathleen GottschalkA concerned LeRoy resident with a
growing interest in government is runningfor city council in her town.
Kathleen Gottschalk, 10-year LeRoy res-ident and first-time city council candidatehas a vested interest in her town.
“I’ve just always been interested in citygovernment and pretty much in any gov-ernment, so I figure, city council is a goodplace to start,” she said
Gottschalk is a 21-year member of themilitary and nearly ready to retire fromthe Air Force Reserve with leadershipqualities. One of her concerns with LeRoyis business and attracting visitors. She isconcerned about keeping people in thearea as well.
“I’d like to see more businesses moveour way,” she said. “I’d like to see morepeople shopping locally.”
Part of that, she added, is making surethe town stays clean, presentable, andmar-ketable to people who pass through.
Ashley HuntleyNineteen-year LeRoy resident Ashley
Huntley has multiple reasons forrunning as a LeRoy City Councilcandidate. She doesn’t have to lookoutside her own home to know why sheis running.“I actually have three kids and one on
the way,” Huntley said. “And I am veryinvolved, and I have a small business inthis town.”Huntley runs in-home child care in
LeRoy. One concern she has regards
safety. She would like to see increasedlaw enforcement patrol in town. Shewould also like to see lower taxes butrespects the fact there is a balancing actin politics.“Every city needs property taxes, but I
would like to see them lowered likeeverybody else,” she said. “But we alsoneed to keep in mind property taxes keepour infrastructure and city going.”Huntley added she is a good candidate
because she knows many of the people intown, knows their children and will keepherself educated about all the issues.
By Matt Peterson
One LeRoy resident is running un-opposed this year for the mayor’s seat.Jennifer Gumbel, who works as an
attorney out of Preston, has been livingin LeRoy for a while and is now readyto take on the elected role.“I thought it was kind of a natural fit
for me to explore serving the commu-nity in an elected role,” she said.Along with her legal education,
Gumbel has an interest in politics —
she lost the 2010 District 27Bstate representative raceagainst incumbent JeannePoppe — and has a youngdaughter. She hasn’t served onthe council or as mayor in thepast, but she is confident shehas what it takes.“I have some experience
with a lot of legal issues thattowns run across,” Gumbelsaid.Gumbel would like to focus on at-
tracting younger people to LeRoyand fostering small business. Shesaid it is important for small,local communities to retain theirresidents and draw young resi-dents.While streets and infrastruc-
ture are OK right now, Gumbelsaid an immediate concern is re-ducing the town’s debt burden.Down the road, the townwill also
need to replace its water tower.“We need to start looking at rates
and preparing for a water tower re-placement in the next 10 years,” shesaid.Outside of LeRoy issues, Gumbel
said she would like to meet with otherlocal community officials and havetalks with the Mower County Board ofCommissioners about county tax is-sues. While she realizes the LeRoy CityCouncil won’t be able to address thoseissues, she hopes to represent LeRoyand help those in greater MowerCounty, as well.
By Trey Mewes
Though the past couple of yearshaven’t been fun for the LeRoy/Os-trander Public Schools Board, thedistrict is in good shape and the can-didates want to keep it that way.“Things are going pretty good,”
said Chris Eastvold, board chairmanand one of five candidates looking tofill four seats up for election.Eastvold joins fellow incumbents
Gladys Kasel and Mike Norby in the
race along with challengers AmosHuntley and Tim Lewison.Eastvold hopes to keep the board
financially solvent, as the board has-n’t had to ask residents for a bond ref-erendum for several years. If elected,he hopes to keep the board in theblack budget-wise instead of contin-uing cuts the district has made overthe past several years.Norby, another board member
seeking reelection, agrees, saying it’simportant to keep Hayfield fiscally
sound in the face of decreasing stateaid.“Over the years, financially we’ve
improved a lot,” he said.Kasel, who joined the board in 2007
to fill an open space, has served twoterms since and wants to get anotherone. For her, LeRoy/Ostrander’sclassroom technology is one of thebiggest issues the board will face.“[Technology is] going so fast, and
from day to day things are being up-graded and changed,” Kasel said.
“We just have to keep up with all ofthat.”Huntley agrees, saying the district
needs to be mindful of its existingtechnology and encourage studentswho are better at working with theirhands to take advantage of the in-dustrial education areas at HayfieldHigh School.“That’s something [the district]
could make more use of, and givesome kids opportunities to succeed,”he said.
Local attorney unopposed in mayoral race
Three running for two City Council posts
LO school board hopefuls focus on financials
—Justin Brandau did not return calls for comment.
—Tim Lewison did not return calls for comment.
Gumbel
VOTERS’ GUIDE • ELECTION 2012 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 11
By Trey Mewes
Six candidates are campaigning forthree open seats on the Southland Pub-lic Schools Board this year, as KimBruggeman, Diane Klingfus and PaulKuehneman vie for their seats againstchallengers Shawn Kennedy, DavidKirtz and Rod Nordeng.“With the experience I’ve obtained
over the last four years serving, I just feellike I can help the district continue run-ning with a positive fund balance, andtry to continue to provide those thingsfor our kids,” Klingfus said.Klingfus said the board will deal
most with budget issues as school dis-tricts across the state face reducedfunding from the state Legislature overthe next several years, and many can-didates say they too are hoping to helpwith budgetary concerns.
“I see it as a balance,” Nordeng, whohas experience serving on various non-profit boards, said. “[We have to ask]how do you maintain everything asyou’re required to do certain thingsthroughmandates and the revenue isn’tincreasing for school districts?”Kuehneman agreed, saying it was
important for the district to be mindfulof its budget while at the same time ad-dressing educational opportunities,like the district’s updated plan to pro-vide one-to-one iPad use for every stu-dent over the next several years.Another key issue, according toKuehneman, is stemming the tide ofstudents leaving the district so South-land can remain for future generations.“We’ve got decreasing enrollment
out there, and the board needs to ad-dress that,” he said.
Southland board hopefulsfocused on state cuts, budgets
—Kennedy, Kirtz and Bruggeman did not return calls for comment.
By Trey Mewes
The issues surrounding the race for Austin PublicSchool Board are, well, educational.Educational experience, that is.This year, Austin Public Schools has no overarch-
ing issues to define its school board election. Instead,elections between Bruce Quitmeyer, Mary Jane Kest-ner, Carol McAlister, Dick Lees, Kathy Glowac andDon Leathers for three open board seats may comedown to who has the most experience in education.There are four board candidates without substan-
tial classroom experience this time, as communitymembers and parents Quitmeyer, Glowac, Kestner andMcAlister hope to help decide policy for Austinschools.Quitmeyer is a client manager for The Nielsen
Company, the TV and radio ratings experts and alsoserves as a business consultant for Hormel FoodsCorp., helping employees identify business problemsand create solutions. He also serves on two Vision 2020committees.Of the four candidates who aren’t former teachers
or administrators, Glowac arguably has an educa-tional leg-up on the competition. Her mother was ateacher in Austin, and she worked as an accountantfor the district for five years, retiring in December.
Kestner has a history of public service, teachingSunday School classes for more than three decades
and working as a special education paraprofessionalfor six months at Woodson, along with being a mem-ber of several local volunteer groups.McAlister is a Mayo Clinic researcher with more
than 23 years of experience, serving as a budget plan-ner and an administrator. She has served on the WeeLearning Center Board of Directors and has volun-teered in Austin schools before.As for the two former teachers, Lees and Leathers,
Lees worked as a science teacher in Austin for morethan 35 years, with five years teaching at RiverlandCommunity College, while Leathers taught highschool English for 33 years, mainly at Glenville/Em-mons Public Schools. Lees has been a board memberfor more than 16 years and is seeking re-election,while Leathers serves on various education associa-tions.Experience in the classroom isn’t necessary to be-
come a board member — a strong belief in public ed-ucation along with various administrative andteamwork skills are what makes a good board member,according to the Minnesota School Board Association— and each candidate has experiences that couldserve well in a policy-setting situation.Only three candidates will be elected come Nov. 6,
and board members will serve four-year terms.
Experience, not issues, define school race
Quitmeyer Kestner McAlister
Lees Glowac Leathers
Austin Public School board
12 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD
By Jason Schoonover
The push for the county’s District 2 com-missioner may shape up to be one of theclosest local races this year.
In the Aug. 14 primary, only two votesseparated challenger Polly Glynn from in-cumbentRayTucker,who eked out a 290-288win. Glynn is expectingmore of the same in No-vember.
Tucker, who is seekinghis fifth term on the countyboard, said this is a compet-itive race.
“I think that I havetougher competition thistime,” Tucker said.
Both candidates havebeen complimentary of oneanother, as Glynn also ac-knowledged Tucker is aleader on the board afterserving for 16 years. Tuckeris the only commissionernot in his first term on the county board.
While Tucker is the old guard on theboard, Glynn could be a rarity. According tocounty officials, Glynnwould be just the sec-ond female commissioner inMowerCounty.Glynn said a female perspectivewouldn’t be
a bad thing.“We just look at things in a different
way,” Glynn said. “And it probablywouldn’thurt to have a female perspective on someof the issues.”
Like thenational races, Tucker saidmostvoters are saying money and budgets are akey concern.
Tucker describedfunding as a never-ending problem,withthe state routinelypassing the burden.
“The state hasbeen pushing it backon the county level,and of course thecounty has nowhereto push it lower,”Tucker said.
Glynn, now re-tired, worked formany years at FirstState Bank, whereshe had to balance
budgets. So, she said she understands thechallenges of dealing with compliance is-sues and regulations.
“I understand that a lot of things in thebudget you don’t have a lot of control over,”Glynn said.
By Jason Schoonover
In the race for District 1 commissioner,the focus is on pocketbooks.
Challenger Paul Fischer has promised tocurb spending, and incumbentTimGabriel-son hasworked to assure voters the board isalready doing everything in its power tospendwisely.
Fischer said he’d lookto curb spending andtaxes, andnotedhe fearednew businesses won’tcome to town because ofthe increasing tax bur-den.
“We’re not going togrow if we don’t change afew things,” he said.
After gradual tax in-creases in recent years,Fischer said the effect isadding up, and he hopesthe board will be morecognizant of andawareofthe increases.
“Tome, it’s kindof like they’re going andpurchasing a new vehicle and then wonder-ing how we’re going to pay for it instead oflooking at it first,” he said.
Gabrielson sees it differently. He com-
pared state requirements on counties to em-ployers setting expectations forworkers butonly funding part of the work.
“Youwouldn’twant to payout of pocket,”he said, adding that’s what counties areforced to do now.
For themost part,Gabrielson,whoworksas an insurance agent, saidmost votershave
been understandingthat state and federalrequirements often tiecounty officials’ hands.
“Of course, theywant their taxes to notgo up, but they realizethat a lot of our costsare out of our control,”Gabrielson said.
Gabrielson said theboard has been open totrying new things, likemerging departments.
Fischer, an auto-bro-ker, has experience onboards, as he is finish-
ing out his first term as Brownsdale CityCouncil member, which he compared to acommissioner’s duty.
“You’re dealing with everything a com-missionerwoulddealwith ona little smallerbasis,” he said.
Glynn, Tucker in tight race Gabrielson, Fischer talking taxes
Gabrielson Fischer
County board Dis-trict 1
Glynn Tucker
County board Dis-trict 2