(Fairmont) – Jerome Niss will be the next mayor of Fairmont, winning 50 percent of the vote in a six-candidate race. Tabitha Johnson will join the Fairmont City Council, winning the Ward One seat with 59 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent Jay Maynard. In Ward Three, incumbent Randy Lubenow narrowly defeated Hollee Klesh, receiving 47 percent of the vote to Klesh’s 41 percent. Fairmont voters also approved all three proposed city charter amendments. The measures address city council members serving on the charter commission, procedures for filling charter commission vacancies, and city council oversight of Fairmont Public Utilities purchases and invoices. Republicans will continue to represent the majority of Martin County in the Minnesota Legislature following Tuesday’s election. Incumbent District 22A State Representative Bjorn Olson won re-election with 67 percent of the vote, defeating Sonja Denn. Jeremy Munson won the District 22 State Senate seat with 65 percent of the vote, defeating Marisa Ulmen. He will replace retiring Senator Rich Draheim. In the six Martin County precincts covered by District 21B, Republican Marj Fogelman defeated Jon Wilson with 61 percent of the vote. Republican Chris Knoll also won the District 21 Senate race, defeating Caitlyn Sanow-Minett with 67 percent. Knoll will replace retiring Senator Bill Weber. The First Congressional District race between incumbent Brad Finstad and challenger Jake Johnson had not yet been called as of early Wednesday morning. In Ceylon, incumbent Mayor Judith Perkins defeated former Mayor John Gibeau with 67 percent of the vote. The two city council seats remain undetermined, with 46 percent of voters casting write-in votes. In Dunnell, Mark Breyfogle was elected mayor with 90 percent of the vote. Lori Goette and Kayla Sybrant won the two city council seats. In Granada, Matt Schuster was elected mayor with 94 percent of the vote, while John Schofield and Matt Brown won the two city council seats. Scott Stith defeated Thomas Wakey 65 to 35 percent to become Northrop’s next mayor. Richard Weber and Bart Johnson won the two city council seats. In Sherburn, Warren Olson was elected mayor with 98 percent of the vote. Sarah Kramer and Michael Kautzman also won the two city council seats.
