According to unofficial results, Turtle received 374 votes (37.03%) of the votes for an open Gibbon representative school board seat. Kathi Gruenhagen received 293 votes (29.01%), Casey Prochniak 190 votes (18.81%) and Bernadine Sauer 139 votes (13.76%).

Turtle got 167 votes in Gibbon. Prochniak got 94, Gruenhagen 86 and Sauer 42 votes. In Winthrop, Turtle got 118 votes, Gruenhagen 80, Prochniak 81 and Sauter 56 votes. In Fairfax, Gruenhagen got 127 votes, Turtle 89, Sauter 41 and Prochniak 25 votes. There were a total of 14 write-in votes.

Also on Tuesday, voters approved a question to revoke the existing referendum revenue authorization of $1,406,30 per pupil and replace it with a new $990.40 per pupil authorization, reducing the existing authorization by $413.90 per pupil.Gibbon voters approved the question 329-71, Winthrop voters 259 to 74 and Fairfax 215 to 85 votes.

Turtle said he was on the site committee for the new GFW school project and that he’s been to many meetings involving the school.

Grosam

“A lot of things go into building a new school. I think we’ve got a good site now. We’re going to get everything at one site, which I think puts us ahead of the curve. One of the things I’ll work on is getting all three communities and the board working together,” said Turtle.

Grosam got 667 total votes for an open Fairfax representative school board seat. He received 257 votes in Winthrop, 252 votes in Gibbon and 158 votes in Fairfax. There were 217 total write-in votes, 97 in Fairfax, 83 in Gibbon and 37 in Winthrop.

The GFW trapshooting team coach, Grosam said he has worked on a number of township projects and farmed at home all his life.

“I’m excited to get going on these (school board) projects with the new school and curriculum,” said Grosam.

School board seats for Gibbon and Fairfax representatives became open last summer when Jason Haas of Gibbon and Amy Acree of Fairfax resigned, citing concerns with the school board to the point that school staff and community members were afraid to talk to the board due to fear of retaliation and that board member Dan Merkel did not address board member concerns.

Merkel refuted the allegations. He said the school district’s legal counsel told him the standard for school board member removal established by state law and the Minnesota Constitution, requires a showing of malfeasance (wrongdoing) or nonfeasance (failure to perform an act required by law) in performance of board duties, related to something directly affecting the rights and interests of the public.

“I respect every board member’s right to their opinion, but a difference of opinion doesn’t mean I did anything wrong,” Merkel wrote in an email response to the board members who resigned.

“I am committed to the best interests of the school district. We have some exciting projects and plans. That will be my focus moving forward,” Merkel added.

In August, the school board interviewed Turtle, Gruenhagen, Sauter and Mason Schmidt for the open Gibbon seat. The board appointed Gruenhagen to the Gibbon seat with one dissenting vote.

“I think we’re in a great place now,” Turtle told the board in his August interview.

He added that not all kids should go to college and that with help from corporations like 3M, robotics and machinery classes could be useful to provide students with more job opportunities.

The question was passed by a vote of 803 (77.73%) to 230 (22.27%) Tuesday, GFW voters The proposed referendum revenue authorization would be first levied in 2024 for taxes payable in 2025 and are applicable for 10 years, unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.

“We made a commitment to the public that if they approved a K-12 (school project), we’d pass the savings back to taxpayers. We’re excited we can do this, being fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars,” said GFW Superintendent Dr. Jeff Horton

GFW special school board and operating levy question voting results will be canvassed by the board Nov. 15.

Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart school district voters approved increasing the school district’s general education revenue by $833 per pupil. the revenue authorization would begin for taxes payable in 2024 and is applicable for 10 years unless revoked or reduced as provided by law.

By a vote of 995 (65.85%) to 516 (34.15%) Tuesday, Bird Island-Olivia-Lake Lillian school district voters approved the issue of up to $39,950,000 in general obligation building bonds for acquisition and betterment of school sites and facilities.