New faces will join county board

Forty percent of the Carlton County board of commissioners turned over on Tuesday, with voters electing two newcomers to go along with the familiar face of an incumbent.

"I appreciate the support from the district, it's been great," said 59-year-old Tom Proulx, the District 3 commissioner representing northeast Cloquet, from Scanlon to beyond Sunnyside.

Proulx ran unopposed, and earned 97 percent of the general election vote (2,667 votes out of 2,725 cast), winning his seat for a fifth straight time.

"I'm looking forward to working with a new board," Proulx said.

He'll be joined on the board by Sarah Plante Buhs, replacing outgoing District 1 commissioner Dick Brenner, representing west and rural Cloquet, and Dan Reed, who is taking over for Gary Peterson in District 5, encompassing western Carlton County, from Cromwell-Wright down to Kettle River, Moose Lake and Reed's beloved home in Automba Township.

"This is the place where my roots are; this is the place where the old ones came to drive the logs down the river," said Reed, an author and local historian. "I really enjoy living in western Carlton County and wanting it to be more of a success, and the only way we can do that is to get Highway 73 upgraded, get this internet thing solved somehow, and get some growth in the area."

Reed bested Cromwell city councilor Alex French, 54 percent to 45 percent (1,643 votes to 1,365). Reed did so by doorknocking as hard as anyone, sometimes spending up to a half-hour visiting with people. Reed estimated he was unfamiliar with 30 to 40 percent of people he talked to.

"Our neighborhoods have changed," Reed said.

Reed received the endorsement of outgoing commissioner Gary Peterson, who is leaving after three terms and won election Tuesday to Soil and Water Conservation District 4.

"Dan worked very hard for the position," Peterson said. "He put a lot of time in and I'm very happy for him."

Change was the order of the day in District 1, where Brenner was stepping away after 32 years.

"I've been in contact with Dick over the last couple of months," Buhs said. "He's got a lot of insight and is a wealth of knowledge and I've leaned on that."

Buhs is currently a Cloquet school board member and executive director of United Way of Carlton County. She won the open seat over Caleb Dunlap, the tribal spokesperson for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Buhs took 55 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for Dunlap (1,945-1,547).

"Both of us ran a really good campaign," Buhs said. "We tried hard. I respect the hard work and dedication he put into the campaign."

County results were posted on the secretary of state website shortly before midnight, and Buhs posted on social media that she was "speechless" when she saw she'd won.

Wednesday morning brought some reality.

"It's still sinking in, but the campaign is done and I won," Buhs said. "Now, it's getting ready to do all the hard work. This is the part why I signed up and put my name on the ballot to be a county commissioner. I want to do the work."

She wants to see growth in both housing and economic development - as ways of broadening the tax base and reducing the responsibility to the tax levy.

Commissioners have proposed a 3-percent tax levy increase for 2025, to a proposed $34.4 million levy - the amount that will be levied on taxable properties in Carlton County for 2025. The figure is $1 million more than 2024's $33.4 million levy.

"I want to work on these taxes, which are rather high, and help the people in the community that are really feeling that pinch," Buhs said.

She expects to take part in the final Cloquet school board meetings of the year before resigning in order to be sworn in on the county board.

Reed was equally ready to get to work. He's been attending board meetings for years as a journalist and township representative.

"This energized me," Reed said of the election season. "I was energized going house-to-house. I just feed off people's questions and answering their concerns. I'm just a happy old warrior."

Reed ends his doorknocking conversations by telling residents to "keep smiling."

He and Buhs were smiling this week. Proulx, too. With no opponent, he was stress-free watching the results roll in on election night.

"I sat at home and watched the results come in, while checking the state of Minnesota website," Proulx said. "I was interested in our other commissioner races to see who I was going to be working with. We're losing all of those years of experience with Dick and Gary. But Dan has been around, and Sarah will be fine. She's been on a school board. She's got experience."