April 7 election results … Stene elected to Colfax Village Board

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  — Former Colfax Village President Gary Stene was elected to the Colfax Village Board during the April 7 spring election.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of the requirement that clerks must receive absentee ballots by the time the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, the absentee ballots had until 4 p.m. April 13 to reach village, city and town clerks.

All election results reported here are “unofficial” until the Board of Canvassers certifies the election results.

The Colfax Village Board election included four candidates for three positions: incumbent Village Trustees Margaret Burcham, Carey Davis and Mark Halpin, along with Stene.

Stene received 161 votes.

The other top two candidates were Halpin, with 211 votes, and Davis, with 180 votes.

Burcham received 150 votes.

According to a report submitted by Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, that was included in the Colfax Village Board’s April 13 packet, Sheila Riemer, deputy clerk, mailed 198 absentee ballots for the election. Eight of those absentee ballots indicated they did not want to vote.

A total of 291 people voted in the April 7 election, consisting of 164 absentee ballots and 135 in-person  ballots at the village hall on election day, according to the report.

The Village of Colfax had 590 registered voters, plus 11 late registrants and eight election day registrants, bringing the total of registered voters to 609.

Voter turnout for the April 7 election was about 52 percent, according to Niggemann’s report.

Colfax school board

Five candidates were on the ballot for three positions on the Colfax Board of Education.

Incumbents on the ballot were Jodi Kiekhafer, Ken Bjork and Christie Hill. The two other candidates on the ballot were Jaclyn Ackerlund and Gary Stene.

The top three candidates were Kiekhafer, with 714 votes; Bjork, with 639 votes; and Ackerlund, with 589 votes.

Hill received 565 votes, and Stene gathered 425 votes.

EM village board

Three candidates were on the ballot for three positions on the Elk Mound Village Board and included two incumbents and one newcomer.

Incumbent Village Trustee Greg Kipp received 152 votes, while Incumbent Paula Turner received 143 votes.

Incumbent Rebecca Livingston decided not to run for re-election.

Cynthia Abraham received 148 votes and will fill Livingston’s position on the Elk Mound Village Board.

EM school board

Four candidates were on the ballot for three positions on the Elk Mound Board of Education.

All three incumbents were re-elected to the school board: Patrick Rhude, with 971 votes; Mark Cedarblade, with 858 votes; and Tim Sivertson, with 839 votes.

Challenger Michael Jenson Jr. brought in 837 votes.

Eric Wright, Elk Mound superintendent, said there may be a recount of the school board ballots.

EM referendum

The $15 million referendum in the Elk Mound school district was approved with 1,045 “yes” votes to 570 “no” votes.

The next steps regarding the referendum will be working with architects and engineers on designing the construction projects as well as securing financing and advertising for bids, Wright said.

“We are hopeful that we will begin construction starting next spring as of now,” he said.

Referendum projects will include a new band/music room, expanded weight room and updated locker rooms at Elk Mound High School, and a new gymnasium at Elk Mound Middle School and conversion of the existing gymnasium to classrooms.