Pertler upset in County Attorney race; Wrenshall voters say 'no'

Tuesday's General Election also brought change outside of Cloquet.

Challenger Lauri Ketola won the County Attorney's race in a landslide - 11,488 votes to 3,347 votes - over incumbent Thom Pertler.

Ketola has less time at the County Attorney's office than Pertler, but also offered a background in nonprofit leadership. She was also endorsed by a number of area law enforcement officials, including Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake, Moose Lake Police Chief Bryce Bogenholm and former Cloquet Police Chief Wade Lamirande.

"I care; I'll show up, and I'll work hard," she told WKLK reporters after it was clear she was going to win Tuesday.

In response to the Pine Knot News, Ketola said she was "humbled and honored" to be elected the next Carlton County Attorney.

"It was definitely a community effort to put me in office," she said. "I felt overwhelming love and support from so many people. The voters appreciated my willingness to run and serve in office and were willing to help to make that happen."

While Pertler has worked in the County Attorney's office for more than 23 years and been County Attorney for 13, in recent years he has faced challenges outside the courtroom, including a very public DWI arrest in Duluth in 2012 and, more recently, the Carlton County Board of Commissioners hired an investigator to look into several issues of concern in the County Attorney's office. The board did not give him a 3 percent raise last year as a result of that investigation.

Pertler called the surprise investigation a "witch-hunt" and speculated that there were ulterior motives at the time. He also said things were going well in the County Attorney's office during last month's Cloquet candidate forum, which Ketola was unable to attend.

Ketola said she plans to spend the next two months "doing whatever is necessary" to hit the ground running in January, when she will be sworn into the office once held by her father-in-law, Marv Ketola.

In other county races, incumbent District 4 Carlton County Commissioner Susan Zmyslony lost by 16 votes to challenger Mark Thell, with vote totals at 1,889 for Zmyslony to 1,905 for Thell. Zymslony, the current board chair, could ask for a recount. On Wednesday, she said she was undecided.

"I'd like to thank those who supported and voted for me during this election," Zmyslony said in a statement to the Pine Knot News. "Because of the close vote I am currently weighing my options. In the meantime, I will continue to work hard and dedicate myself to the fulfillment of my term for the people of Carlton County District 4."

Wrenshall School District voters say "no" to building referendum

In Wrenshall, residents voted "no" to a roughly $13 million school building referendum for the second time in less than two years, but this year's tally was much closer.

A total of 534 people, or 52.5 percent, voted "no" to the first and main referendum question, with 482 (47.5 percent) voting "yes," to nearly $13 million in renovations to the existing K-12 facility. Tuesday's vote was much closer than the 72 percent who voted against the 2017 referendum.

Had it passed, Question No. 1 would have addressed issues of indoor air quality, fire suppression, heating and ventilation, asbestos removal, roof replacement, window replacement, tuckpointing, and repurposing of the swimming pool area. It would have provided for an addition to the gymnasium, relocated the offices to create a secure entrance, and remodeled the Rec Building into Industrial Tech space.

Two additional questions also failed. Question No. 2, which asked voters to approve $550,000 to restore the 1977 pool, failed 640 votes to 366. Question No. 3 asked for $1,722,500 to renovate classroom technology and infrastructure; it failed 593 votes to 413.

Wrenshall Superintendent Kimberly Belcastro said it was "tough to come up short," noting that the Wrenshall School Board and the District Facility Committee worked very hard to come up with a plan that focused on the needs of the school district.

"This was a 'no frills' proposal," Belcastro said, offering a quick analysis of the results. "The closer race indicates that many more of the district residents did see value in the proposal that was brought to the table to be voted on. Question No. 2 proved that the community overall does not have an interest in keeping the swimming pool. This is an indicator that needs to be considered moving forward."

Belcastro said the school board will also be finalizing a response letter back to the Carlton School Board regarding continuing consolidation discussions.

Concerned Wrenshall school district taxpayer Mike Rabideaux was pleased with the election results "because people reacted to both the energy utility situation and, we think, to the outstanding debt."

He also expressed optimism about other options.

"Now that we have a couple new school board members, we hope that they look at the other options, including consolidation," said Rabideaux, who is a retired school superintendent for the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School.

Naysayers talked a lot about the litigation between various utility companies and the state of Minnesota, a case some utility companies have already won and which will likely bring higher property taxes for many residents in the Wrenshall area and elsewhere.

Candidates elected to the Wrenshall School Board included newcomers Randall Jack Eudy (621) and Debra Washenesky (553) and incumbunt Michelle Blanchard (516). Long-standing members Matt Laveau and Janaki Fisher-Merritt will continue to serve.

Highly contested Carlton, Cromwell school board races decided

The school board races in both Carlton and Cromwell saw numerous people willing to run: Nine candidates put their names in the hat in Carlton, while eight ran for three seats in the Cromwell-Wright School District.

In Carlton, where the future of the school district has been a central question on the minds of voters on and off for nearly a decade, the top three vote-getters were Susan Karp with 914 votes, Ann Gustafson with 794 and Jeremy "Sam" Ojibway with 675.

Karp was the only incumbent in the race, so the election will bring two new faces to the Carlton School Board.

In Cromwell, the top vote-getters were Shayne Korpela, with 363 votes, followed by Tom Anderson with 344, and Walter Collman with 299. Current Board Chair Gregory Eliason was not re-elected.

Sundin wins fourth term in Minnesota House

State Representative Mike Sundin won a fourth term in the Minnesota House of Representatives with 9,426 votes to 6,748 votes for Republican challenger Jeff Dotseth.

"I've always worked hard for the district, and I'll continue to do so," Sundin said. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done at the legislature and I'll work hard to do it.

"It's an honor to be re-elected and I think it shows that I work hard for everyone in the district."

Dotseth said he was happy with his campaign.

"I love this community, and we did pretty good, considering," said Dotseth, who has real estate offices in Zimmerman and Moose Lake. "I wanted to win, but more importantly, we wanted to make sure our pro-business message got out. Mike ran a nice, clean campaign, which is another reason I love it here."