by Dennis Dalman
St. Joseph will soon have a new mayor, Adam Scepaniak, one new city-council member, Adam Schnettler, as well as a re-elected incumbent council member, Kelly Beniek.
Those three were elected in the Nov. 5 general election. Scepaniak, a current city-council member, defeated two other contenders for the mayoral position – Jon Hazen and Robert Loso. Scepaniak will lead the city after the long-time service of Mayor Rick Schultz, who had decided not to file for re-election after serving in that position for 14 years.
Vote totals: Scepaniak 1,415; Hazen, 1,196; Loso 561.
Scepaniak
Before the election, Scepaniak told the Newsleaders he believes his “experiences as a businessman and city official will dovetail to help create a dynamic city, building on its current strengths and on its future potential.”
A six-year resident of St. Joseph, Mayor-elect Scepaniak currently serves, until January, as a city-council member. He is also a member of the city’s planning commission and a St. Joseph firefighter. Scepaniak is managing editor of AllOutdoor.com and a freelance writer for Hunting/Outdoors with its more than 10 print and online publications. He is also the manager of the Guns and Gear store in Waite Park.
City Council
Incumbent council member Kelly Beniek and newcomer Adam Schnettler were declared the winners. The other candidate was Troy Goracke.
Vote totals: Beniek 1,870; Schnettler 1,329; Goracke 1,169.
School Board
The four winners of seven candidates vying for seats on the St. Cloud School Board are three incumbents (Scott Andreasen, Shannon Haws, Bruce Hentges) and newcomer Diana Fenton. The other candidates were incumbents Al Dahlgren and Monica Segura-Schwartz; and new challenger Yoanna Ayala-Zaldana.
St. Cloud area vote totals: Hentges 20,717; Haws 19,337; Fenton 17,873; Andreasen 17,562; Dahlgren 14,509; Segura-Schwartz 13,667; Ayala-Zaldana 6,217.
St. Joseph voters helped choose the four who won the school-board race district-wide – Fenton, Andreasen, Hentges and Haws.
The St. Joseph vote totals: Fenton 1,505; Haws 1,404; Hentges 1,372; Andreasen 1,275; Al Dahlgren (also a St. Joseph resident) 1,065; Monica Segura-Schwartz (1,195); Yoanna Ayala-Zaldana 474.
Other area elections
Sartell City Council: Rustin Deters and Pat Lynch both won, defeating contender Marshall Grams.
Vote totals: Lynch 5,397; Deters 4,957; Grams 3,986.
Sartell-St. Stephen School Board: Two incumbents (Tricia Meling, Matthew Moehrle) and one new candidate (Chelsea Thielen) won the election, defeating challengers Aaron Alexander, Michael Gruber and Michael Ringstad.
Vote totals: Thielen 5,683; Meling 5,197; Moehrle 5,040; Ringstad 4,757; Gruber 4,706; Alexander 4,060.
St. Stephen Mayor: Incumbent Lisa Marvin defeated challenger Edward Peternell.
Vote totals: Marvin 278; Peternell 208.
St. Stephen Council: Incumbents Stephen Trobec and Thomas Vouk were both re-elected.
Vote totals: Trobec 399; Vouk 340.
Ballot Question 1: On the Nov. 5 Stearns County ballots was a question on whether the county should initiate a county-wide sales tax of an additional .375 percent to help pay for a new County Justice Center. The question was approved by voters by a hefty margin of 62.5 percent yes to 37.75 percent (50,234 yes votes, 30,466 no votes).
Ballot Question 2: The question for voter was this: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to protect drinking water sources and the water quality of lakes, rivers and streams; conserve wildlife habitat and natural areas; improve air quality; and expand access to parks and trails by extending the transfer of proceeds from the state-operated lottery to the environment and natural resources trust fund, and to dedicate the proceeds for these purposes?”
Voters approved the question by 2,524,173 votes. The no votes were 530,173.
Stearns Commissioner (District 2): Incumbent Joe Perske was the winner. The other candidate on the ballot was Jerry Theisen. Incumbent Steve Notch Commissioner District 5 was also re-elected.
Vote totals: Perske 9,983; Theisen 6,104; Notch 13,707.
House District 14A: Incumbent Rep. Bernie Perryman, Republican, defeated a challenge by candidate Abdi Daisane.
Vote totals: Perryman 10,967; Daisane 8,464.
House District 14B: Incumbent DFL Rep. Dan Wolgamott, St. Cloud, received 9,757 votes, just 28 votes more than challenger Sue Ek. However, that vote total later changed after more absentee ballots were counted, giving Wolgamott a 191-vote lead. Ek could still request a recount, but she would have to pay for it; if the difference in the vote count was 0.5 percent or less, that would trigger an automatic taxpayer-paid recount.
(For more on that close race and another one, see story in today’s paper with the headline of “Control of the House hangs in the balance.”)
House District 13A: Incumbent Rep. Lisa Demuth, R, was re-elected, defeating DFL challenger Cindy Aho.
Vote totals: Demuth 19,215; Aho 6,282.
House District 13B: Incumbent Rep. Tim O’Driscoll, R, beat DFL challenger Dusty Bolstad.
Vote totals: O’Driscoll 16,467; Bolstad 7,505.
U.S. Congressional District 6: Incumbent U.S. House Rep. Tom Emmer, R, defeated DFL challenger Jeanne Hendricks. Emmer will serve his sixth two-year term in the House, having first been elected in 2014 after Rep. Michele Bachmann, R, decided not to file for re-election. In the House, Emmer has served as Majority Whip since 2023.
Vote totals: Emmer 257,527; Hendricks 152,700.
Minnesota U.S. Senator: DFL Sen. Klobuchar won her re-election bid against challenger Royce White, R. She also defeated two other challengers – Rebecca Whiting (Libertarian Party) and Joyce Lynn Lacey (Independence-Alliance Party). This will be Klobuchar’s fourth six-year term in the Senate.
Vote totals: Klobuchar 1,791,459; White 1,290,759; Whiting 55,427; Lacey 46,621.
Adam Scepaniak was elected as the new mayor for St. Joseph. He will begin his duties in January when current long-time Mayor Rick Schultz steps down.
Kelly Beniek
Adam Schnettler
