By Jean Doran Matua, Editor
The Kimball Area Chamber of Commerce again hosted a “Meet the Candidate” night for the 2018 election. It all happened Thursday evening, Oct. 18, at the KAHS cafetorium. Besides the candidates and their entourages, and not counting chamber members who were working that evening, a total of 12 people came out on that beautiful fall evening to listen to their candidates for political office. While I can’t believe that only those 12 people care about who represents them in local and state government, I do fear that many didn’t attend because they just didn’t want to sit and listen for so long. As one who does this for a living (a lot of sitting and listening, and sitting through political meetings), I can understand that, I guess. Perhaps they were waiting for my video and/or written summary. It would still be nice to get better turnout to these things. It’s critical for everyone to VOTE, but to make an INFORMED vote.
The evening was divided into four sessions:
• Stearns County Sheriff candidates Dave Bentrud and Steve Soyka.
• Kimball school board candidates Barb Waldorf, Tom Schreiner, and Eric Helgeson; Kurt Helgeson and Brian Becker were absent.
• Kimball city council: Megan Kiffmeyer and Kyle Christensen; Cindy Stelten was absent.
• State candidates Dean Urdahl (House 18A), Jim Read and Lisa DeMuth (House 13A), and Jeff Howe and Joe Perske (Senate 13).
A set of questions was prepared for each group of candidates by Kimball students. Candidates took turns answering the questions, and their answers were timed. Introductions and summaries were part of each forum.
Search for “Tri-County News (central Minnesota)” on youtube.com to find videos
Stearns County Sheriff
1) What are your two top priorities if elected to office?
2) What do you feel is the biggest challenge you will face if elected?
3) How will you work to see that your area/department stays within the budget created?
4) How important is communication to you with the people that you represent?
Both candidates have many years of experience in law enforcement, Bentrud as a police chief in Waite Park, and Soyka within the Sheriff’s Office. It could be simplified as Bentrud is an “outside candidate” and Soyka an “inside candidate.”
Dave Bentrud favors making advancements in technology where crimes are occurring, and he feels staffing needs to be shored up at the jail. Facilities are the biggest challenge, with the department spending about $850,000 a year to house inmates elsewhere. He feels the communications center also is understaffed. He has 10 years experience setting and monitoring budgets, and has always come in under budget. He favors creating a county-wide advisory board as well as engaging with people while on patrol, and sharing information between departments.
Steve Soyka agrees that staffing is a problem, one that is not unique to Stearns County; he wants to recruit and retain quality people. The county is short 2 dispatchers and 8-12 jailers, and they have eased the requirements to be a jailer. To stay on budget requires working with each division and with administrative staff, shopping vendors, and to keep looking at things. Soyka wants to establish community policing, and wants to be a working sheriff, getting out on patrol and talk with people. Communication is huge, he says.
When asked where they differ, it comes down to style and approach, and being an inside or outside candidate. Bentrud sees the job of Sheriff as a CEO, managing a $24 Million budget and 200 employees; he prefers a bottom-up administrative approach. Soyka already has relationships with other employees in the department and has put the right people under him to make it possible to go out in the field.
“I’ve been there, done that,” Soyka says of his varied experience already in the Sheriff’s Office. He’d treat the Sheriff’s Office like a business and try to make it better, re-branding it into a new and different Sheriff’s Office.
Bentrud has the perspective and experiences of an outside candidate. He knows that the Sheriff’s Office relationship with local police is strained. The department can be more effective through technology. “It used to be all about law enforcement,” Bentrud said. “Today it’s sex trafficking, mental health, school safety, and more.”
Kimball school board
1) Explain what impact you will make as a school board member to continue to help our school district move forward.
2) What are your views on how our district can contribute to develop and retain its teachers?
3) Give an example of a positive role you see yourself playing in the communication with community families about our current school district?
4) If elected, how will this community remember your term as a school board member?
Candidate Dr. Kurt Helgeson submitted his written answers.
Barb Waldorf is running unopposed for a two-year seat on the board. She has already served one year in this seat (as a replacement) and would like to finish out the term. She has two kids in school. Finding the right leader is essential, and then everything falls into place. All members of the board have different opinions, but common goals. The district should provide leadership to teachers. She believes budgets and state regulations make it hard to compensate properly, though she feels the district will continue to be creative in its endeavors. We’ve had a lot of successes, and it seems to be working (e.g. fliers to increase open enrollment). She’d like to see more district families stay in-district. Waldorf would like to keep the district moving in a positive direction, with enrollment up and staffing stable, and she’s proud of the academics available. She’d like to make sure the Kimball schools stay safe, and keep to a sound budget.
Tom Schreiner has been in Kimball since 1993, and has three daughters. He has served two terms and is seeking a third. “If you want to be part of the solution, you have to take the bull by the horns,” he said in his introductory statement. Schreiner views the board as a group of six members that collectively make decisions. He feels he can continue to contribute fiscal responsibility with the right leader, a positive fund balance, and facilities improvements. Everything rises and falls on leadership: superintendent and principals. He believes Kimball has a very seasoned group of teachers; are they at the top (no), at the bottom (no), competitive (yes!). Schreiner would like to be remembered for openness, honesty, transparency, and trustworthiness; and that he’s committed to all students. “If we’re not growing, we’re dying.”
Kurt Helgeson has two kids who have graduated from Kimball, and his wife is a teacher here. He is a professor at St. Cloud State University, is on the South Haven Fire Department, and served five years on the board. Providing a good education is essential, he believes, and the district should focus on its strengths. He supports wise financial transactions, and believes that the district has not always made wise choices. Education is the impact Dr. Helgeson wants to have on the district, including preparing teachers, budgets, and spending priorities. He wants Kimball to hire and retain only the best teachers, and feels that teachers are being asked to do more and more [beyond teaching]. Communication is key, he believes. He’d like to see stronger commitments to both athletics and arts. “My focus will always be with students, all students.”
Eric Helgeson’s wife is from Kimball, and that’s how he arrived here. (He’s no relation to Kurt Helgeson.) “Public school should be the cornerstone of our society,” he said. He is a software architect, looking for what’s working well and what’s not. His technology experience is a good fit for decision-making, he feels. He has two kids. Retaining talent in any business is important, he believes, and he wants contracts to be done earlier, with fair compensation. Eric is a big believer in transparency, and gets his information from the newspaper. We need to share our successes and get that communication out.
Kimball city council
1) What are your short-term and long-term goals for the city of Kimball?
2) With the importance of economics today, how much priority will you give the city budget plan?
3) How will you work with our school and surrounding communities to continue to make Kimball an important part of Central Minnesota?
4) What are your goals to attract/retain businesses and families to our city?
Candidates Cindy Stelten and Aaron Dahlinger were not present. Watch for their questionnaire answers next week.
Incumbent MEGAN KIFFMEYER is an officer on the Kimball Chamber, and her husband is on the Fire Department. Finishing the current budget and communication are her goals. She’d like to see joint meetings with the Kimball school board. The budget is a huge part of being on the council, making good choices and accountability. She’d like to set up a capital improvement plan. She believes the new Kimball Library will be good for attracting people and businesses to Kimball, and she’d like to see Kimball start some kind of economic development like other communities have. She enjoys being a part of change, and wants to retain Kimball’s small-town feel while growing.
kyle christensen is a carpenter who’s been in Kimball since 1982. He has nine grandchildren, four of them in Kimball schools. He has more than 25 years building inspector experience with cities. He’d consider a new look as a goal, and wants to learn what city and business goals are. He’s a saver, not a spender (very frugal) and spends money based on sound data and research, not feelings. The school is the most important entity/building in the community. He wants to get the word out that Kimball is a wonderful place, and can’t think of a better place to raise a family. He loves the small-town feel of Kimball. In order to attract businesses, we have to make sure we have infrastructure, property, and zoning ordinances for them. Christensen is not a politician, he says, but has a passion for the city of Kimball. There is room for improvement, and for new ideas.
State candidates
1) When it comes to the rising costs of health insurance, what role do you see yourself playing as a member of the MN legislature?
2) How do you plan on dealing with the number of local units and schools that are relying upon funding from the State?
3) What is your plan to deal with the State’s economic issues?
Jim read is a political science professor. He is running for 13A Representative because America is deeply and angrily divided; we need to talk with each other, as help reuniting us won’t come from the parties. He has visited more than 8,000 households, one by one, learning the community. Read believes that a ban of pre-existing conditions equals discrimination. “We shouldn’t sell medical insurance in Minnesota that doesn’t cover mental health,” he said. “All of us agree on the inequity of funding of education; the state used to pay 72% of education costs, now it’s 67%. Minnesota is doing better than most states economically, especially Wisconsin. “Let’s not wreck it,” he says. But we’re funding transportation with decreasing gas tax revenues, and will have to deal with aging infrastructure (including water mains). He says he will listen to everyone, support everyone. “We can disagree without being disagreeable.”
Also running for 13A Representative is Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring. She spent 11 years on the ROCORI school board, and runs a small business with her husband. Education funding, healthcare, and workforce sustainability are her big three issues. Medical crises have hit all of our families, she says; we need more choices. She still doesn’t understand completely how school funding works, and why the 7-county metro students are “worth more” than rural students. She wants more local decision-making. She wants to look at how we tax, to lower taxes; is there wasteful spending? “Strong families will make us all better.”
Jeff Howe is running in a special election for the remaining two years of Michelle Fischbach’s Senate 13 term; he has served as Rep. in 13A. “Whoever wins this senate race brings that party majority.” He believes that MNSure ruined the premier plan we had in the country before ACA, and that we’ve been trying to repair it since then; he voted against MNSure. The Governor needs to request an ACA waiver, he says. He’d like to see the state start from scratch on school funding. Mental health care is a great need. He wants to give some of the tax money back to you. Howe has been a public servant most of his life: 27 years fire department, 38 years military, city council, state legislature. “I’ve failed at retirement although I’ve tried three times.” Veterans are his priority.
Joe Perske is also running for 13A Rep. He is county commissioner, and has been Sartell’s mayor. He is an Eagle Scout, pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment. “We need to come together and find compromise. It’s ‘We the People,’ not ‘We the Parties.’” He believes healthcare is the #1 issue, and uncertainty about it causes nervousness and frustration. We need to work together. Funding education is perhaps the most important task of state legislators, but it’s hard playing catch-up with 2% increases, and mandates. It’s important to find good teachers, too. We’re fortunate to have a good economy. There’s lots needed for roads and bridges, but let’s not go hog-wild: what can taxpayers afford? If we work together, we can do more, get more done. Healthcare, affordable housing, and how to pay for college are issues. We need to focus on people.