The Primary Election was held on Tuesday, August 9 with the polls closing across the state of Minnesota at 8:00 p.m.
Two of the votes of interest for Crookston and area residents were the Crookston School District Multi-use facility referendum and the Republican battle in Minnesota State Senate District 1.
CROOKSTON SCHOOL DISTRICT –
The City of Crookston and Crookston School District residents came out to the polls in record numbers for a Primary Election because the district was asking its residents to approve a referendum for $3,195,000 for a new multi-use football, soccer, track and field facility on the Crookston High School grounds.
The vote was tight and the NO votes edged the YES votes by nine votes (842 to 833). With the no votes winning by less than one percent of the vote the district can request a recount that would have to be paid by the district.
“It’s very disappointing when you have a very close vote and it’s a nine-vote differential, you have a lot of questions and things running through your head. But it shows that there was support for the new outdoor, multi-use complex, but there were also some people that we maybe didn’t inform, or they didn’t take the opportunity to hear some of the information,” said Interim Superintendent Dave Kuehn. “It’s really hard to know when the vote is that close what the main thing is that close. We can look at the results, but ultimately, we came up short and we’re going to have to put our heads together and figure out what the next steps are with the district.”
Interim Superintendent Kuehn believes that the facility will return as another future proposed referendum but noted that is a thing for the School Board to decide on in the future. Kuehn added that the possibility of a recount is up to the school board after a difference of less than 1% (49.73% to 50.27%) or if they’ll hold a public meeting to go into further discussion about what to do next with the referendum with the options available to them. “Our board will have to weigh in on what our next steps are if they want to look at a recount and what the next steps are following this vote. I have to get some information out to the board members tonight and talk about if we want to get together to decide on this,” said Kuehn. “We wanted to wait until the results of the vote came in and we were looking for a favorable result and we need to get together and talk about this, and if that’ll happen tomorrow or in the near future, we’ll let people know.”
MINNESOTA SENATE DISTRICT 1 –
The election for the Republican candidate for State Senator in District 1 is going to be won by the incumbent Mark Johnson as he has taken a commanding lead over challenger Dave Hughes. “It is great to see that support from the people that you know and trust, and I really appreciate the opportunity to serve Crookston,” said Senator Johnson. “It’s really a part of my home county as I grew up just down the road from it. So, I really appreciate that from the community.” Senator Johnson is looking forward to the General Election in November and thanked the thousands of people that came out to vote and support him in the Primary Election. “First of all, just thank you so much for one, going out and voting in a primary. We have such low voter turnout normally in a primary that it means a great deal that you’re all going out and doing that. It’s really good to see,” said Senator Johnson. “And two, again, thank you for the support while you were out there to vote for me. I really appreciate that, and I look forward to serving you for the next four years. If things continue to go in the same trend that they are now, I’m really looking forward to that.”
| Crookston School District Multi-use facility referendum (26 of 26 precincts reporting) |
Votes |
| Yes | 833 (49.73%) |
| No | 842 (50.27%) |
| MN Senate District 1 (Republican) (315 of 315 precincts reporting) |
|
| Mark Johnson (I) | 6363 (85.73%) |
| Dave Hughes | 1059 (14.27%) |
OTHER RACES OF INTEREST –
| U.S Representative District 7 Republican (1329 of 1329 precincts reporting) |
Votes |
| Michelle Fischbach | 59,440 |
| U.S Representative District 7 DFL (1329 of 1329 precincts reporting) |
|
| Jill Abahsain | 14,353 |
| Alycia R Gruenhagen | 9,971 |
| Governor and Lt. Governor Republican (4103 of 4103 precincts reporting) |
|
| Scott Jensen and Matt Birk | 288,501 |
| Joyce Lynn Lacey and Kent Edwards | 21,307 |
| Bob Carney Jr. and Captain Jack Sparrow | 13,212 |
| Governor and Lt. Governor DFL (4103 of 4103 precincts reporting) |
|
| Tim Walz and Peggy Flanagan | 416,907 |
| Ole Savior and Julia M Parker | 14,996 |
| Secretary of State (Republican) (4103 of 4103 precincts reporting) |
|
| Kim Crockett | 190,115 |
| Erik van Mechelen | 110,942 |
| Secretary of State (DFL) (4103 of 4103 precincts reporting) |
|
| Steve Simon (I) | 285,307 |
| Steve Carlson | 108,143 |
| Attorney General (Republican) (4103 of 4103 precincts reporting) |
|
| Jim Schultz | 163,952 |
| Doug Wardlow | 108,533 |
| Sharon Anderson | 39,718 |
| Attorney General (DFL) (4103 of 4103 precincts reporting) |
|
| Keith Ellison (I) | 378,361 |
| Bill Dahn | 45,111 |
