The Crookston Area Chamber held its Candidate Forum on Tuesday night to allow the public to hear from the current candidates for the open spots for the Crookston Public School Board, Crookston City Council, Polk County Commissioners, State Representative District 1B, and State Senator District 1. The forum was moderated by Crookston Area Chamber Executive Director Mark Landa and Monica Custritz of the University of Minnesota Crookston. The forum had the candidates introduce themselves to the audience and answer two questions submitted by the public, then give a closing statement to the public.
Three districts on the Polk County Commissioners are up for election this year in Districts 2, 4, and 5.
The candidates for District 2 are incumbent Warren Strandell and opponent Curtis Knutson. We asked each candidate to introduce themselves and what they hoped to do if elected as the District Commissioner.
Q: Would you please tell us about yourself?
Warren: I’m Warren Strandell. I grew up in Warren, Minnesota and from there went off to the military, then back to school, then back to the military, then off to the Interstate Business College in Fargo for a year. At about that time, in that next summer, my National Guard Unit was recalled to active duty, so we spent a year at Fort Riley, Kansas. After that, I got back into the newspaper business, my next door neighbor in Warren was Neil Mattson, and when I came home from school one summer, he asked me, “What are you doing this summer,” and I said, “I don’t have anything lined up yet,” so he said, “Why don’t you come work for us?” So, I started a 30-year career in newspaper and journalism, including two years in Warren Chief, two at the Austin Daily Herald in southern Minnesota, and ten at the Grand Forks Herald. From there, I ended up doing my own business, then was elected into the County Board and have spent 28 years on the board. Now I’m looking for one more term to try and finish some last-minute business, mainly with budget stuff, and would ask you to give me that privilege.
Curtis: I’m Curt Knutson. I was born and raised in Fisher, Minnesota. I live in the same house I was raised in. When I was 18 years old, I must have been a bad kid because my mother moved out to down, but I stayed there. My wife is Kim. We have four grown children and 14 grandchildren, almost all living in District 2 of Polk County. On Sunday nights, we get together for a meal, all 24 of us sit down for a meal, and the oldest grandchild is 12, so things get rather noisy. We farm about 5,000 acres south of Fisher in District 2 with my brother, son, and son-in-law. We raise sugarbeets, soybeans, wheat, and cattle, which I’ve been doing since I was 18. I’ve always had a desire to participate in the community on different boards and different levels of government. My past experiences are a wide range. I was on the Rome Township board member for two terms, a Fisher School Board member for 16 and a half years, I served on the Minnesota Barley Council, West Polk County Crop Improvement, and 20 years serving on the Sheriff’s Mounted Posse, which gives me a unique insight into that side of law enforcement. I served on the 12 years on the American Crystal Sugar’s board, with five of those as Chairmen of the Ag Committee, two years as Chairmen of the Ops Committee, two years as Vice Chairmen of the board, and two years as Chairmen of the board. While I was there, I served as the Chairman of United Sugars and MAC, the by-product distribution company of American Crystal.
Q: What are you hoping to accomplish if you are elected as the commissioner?
Warren: The main thing is the Corrections Center issue, where we’re going to need another $400,000 in that budget because of shortfalls that occurred because we had to shut down one pod in the jail because of COVID, inflation, and a worker shortage. We need to get that back now that the pod has reopened, and now that will allow us to bring in prisoners from other jurisdictions, and that should cover that $400,000, and what we’ve done with that money in the past is use it to pay off the bonds. $7.5 million were sold in 2006 to build the jail, but we had used that money to cover more than the debt service on that, so the jail hasn’t cost the county a whole lot of anything, now these last two years with the COVID problem it really upset things but we’re getting it back on schedule there.”
Curtis: I have no agenda coming into office. I’m not trying to accomplish anything unique in what they’re doing today. It’s a matter of learning the system, learning the constituents, what they ask for and want, then being able to provide governance to get that done.”
The candidates for District 4 are incumbent Joan Lee and opponent Dennis R. Boucher. We asked each candidate why they were running and what they hoped to do if elected as the District Commissioner.
Q: Why are you running?
Dennis: I’ve had several individuals come to me since the last election. They’ve encouraged me to rerun because there are projects in the very east end of District 4 that border Clearwater and they need stuff done in their little towns that have not been done. So I said that I’ll see what I can do, I can’t promise anything, but I’ll do the best I can.
Joan: I know I’m probably crazy, but I really love what I do. To me, it’s not a job. It’s having the opportunity to continue to network with people and the ability to learn. Things are always changing, and for me learning is something I really enjoy doing. There are things that I know and, as a county, that we can do better, and I would just like to see those things happen.
Q: What are you hoping to accomplish if you are elected as the commissioner?
Dennis: The trucks and tractors are getting bigger, and the roads have not been improved in years. They need to be fixed and have a new base put on them. I’ve done that for 40 years, I can do it, and it’s not that terribly expensive. I’ve done it at our smaller township, and it’s worked out really well. I don’t know the doings of Polk County in the office, if you will, because I am a hands-on, on-the-road type of guy, but that will come with the job, I’m sure.
Joan: For me, it’s to continue providing the services our residents need and expect from the county. We have some things that I would like to continue to work on at the local level as we have department heads that will be retiring in the next few years, and we want to work on that succession planning, which I think is going to be very important. Also, we’ve looked at getting a new software program which I think would definitely make the work the county does more efficient and streamline things that we can definitely do better at.
Running unopposed in District 5 in incumbent Mark Holy. We asked Holy to introduce himself and tell us what he hopes to accomplish as commissioner.
Q: Would you please tell us about yourself?
Holy: My name is Mark Holy. I am currently the District 5 Commissioner. I am from rural East Grand Forks up in Northland Township and was born and attended East Grand Forks High School, graduated in 1975, and went on to college with a degree in Business Aviation and ran my own aerial obligation business for 22 years, and ended up coming back to the family farm when my dad retired in 2003. I was involved in politics in East Grand Forks right after the flood and helped the city rebuild for eight years after the flood of ’97. I learned a lot about the inner agency and workings. I have always found an interest in helping citizens understand our government’s procedures and policies. How to navigate and operate in that minefield that sometimes people feel that the government is too oppressive when really it’s not. It’s just the education of how to work in it. I like to help people and make their lives better. I was married to my wife, and we have three grown boys who are scattered all over Minnesota, Arizona, and North Dakota.
Q: What are you hoping to accomplish if you are elected as the commissioner that you couldn’t in your last term?
Holy: Making sure the county taxpayer is being represented in the budget properly, and we’re not overspending county dollars. Second, and near and dear to me, is public drainage. I farm, and I understand that the drainage systems are important to farmers and the agricultural world. I want to make sure the county maintains the county assets and that we do a good job with new establishments of impoundments or new drainage systems that can be put into the county.
The live stream of the forum can be found below-
