The candidate filing period for the Cook County Board and the Soil & Water Board fall election started Tuesday, May 19 and runs through Tuesday, June 2. The seats of County Commissioners Myron Bursheim, District 2, and Heidi Doo-Kirk, District 4, will be on the November ballot and will require an August primary if more than two candidates file. The Soil and Water Supervisors whose seats will be on the November ballot are David Grosshuesch, Joan Farnam, and John Twiest. There will also be fall elections for the school board, hospital board and Grand Marais City Council, but the filing period for those positions starts in late July.
Cook County Board of Commissioners
A person needs to look at a map to see the lines of the five county board districts, which were drawn to assure that all districts had similar population counts. That map can be found on the Cook County web site.
District 2 is the eastern part of Grand Marais and an area just east of the city along highway 61. Myron Bursheim was first elected to the seat in 2016.
District 4 includes a large area north and east of Grand Marais including Maple Hill, the Gunflint Trail and a section of the shore around County Road 58. Heidi Doo-Kirk was first elected in 2012 and is serving her second term on the board.
A commissioner serves for four years each election cycle. There are no term limits. Candidates for the seats must file an Affidavit of Candidacy with the County Auditor and pay a $50 filing fee. The form can be found on the web sites of Cook County and the Minnesota Secretary of State. If more than two candidates file for either seat, the field will be narrowed to two in the August Primary Election. Voters only vote for the commissioner that represents their district.
Cook County Soil and Water Board
The Soil and Water election has its own districts and different rules. A map of the districts, which were established by area, not population, can be found on the Cook County web site under the Maps and GIS tab. The Supervisors must live in their district but are elected At Large, with all county voters voting for all open seats.
The Soil and Water Board has had a big turnover this year with two of the five Supervisors resigning after years of service. The persons appointed to those positions both have seats up for election this year.
Soil and Water District 1 is the far west of the county, labeled the Tofte Area on the board’s web site. David Grosshuesch was appointed to the seat in March, replacing Donald Goodell who had served since 2008.
District 3, the City of Grand Marais, is represented by Joan Farnam who was also first elected in 2008.
District 5, called the Hovland area, also has a new supervisor. John Twiest took office in April replacing Jerry Hiniker who had served since 2012.
Soil and Water candidates also file an Affidavit of Candidacy with the County Auditor and need to pay a $20 filing fee. The Soil and Water section of the county web site lists all the duties of the Soil and Water Board.
More filings coming in July
There are more Cook County elections in the fall, with a filing period of July 28 through August 11. That includes two seats on the school board and two seats on the hospital board. For Grand Marais city residents, the mayor and two of the four city council members are up for election. This second filing is for elections where a primary election is not an option. These elections will be covered in more detail in July.
In addition, there are elections this fall for offices beyond Cook County, as some may have noticed.
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