Minot voters elected three incumbents and the husband of a former board member to the Minot Public School Board on Tuesday.
In the race for the three four-year terms, incument Jim Rostad was the top vote getter, with 4,723 votes. He was followed by Brenda Foster, with 4,223 votes, and Roger Kluck, with 3,568 votes. Rostad and Kluck were previously elected to the board, while Foster was appointed last year to a seat on the board after Jackie Velk resigned her seat to take a position with Sen. John Hoeven's office.
They defeated challenger Scott Williams, who finished in fourth place, with 2,759 votes.
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Dan Feldner/MDN
Cliff Hovda exits a voting booth at First Assembly of God church Tuesday morning after marking his ballot. A number of statewide measures, including one that would abolish state property taxes and another concerning the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux nickname, were expected to draw large crowds to the polls.
The totals do not reflect absentee ballots cast.
Foster elected to run for a four-year term on the board after board president Nancy Langseth decided not to run again for her seat.
In the race for the two-year seat left vacant by Jackie Velk last year, Velk's husband, Steven Velk won the seat with 3,053 votes, defeating former school board member Kirk Welstad, who had 2,391 votes.
Rostad, who will be the likely president of the board, said he was pleased with the results.
"It of course feels good," he said. He said the results are a vote of confidence for the incumbent board and the job it has been doing.
Rostad said the board will face challenges helping the school district to recover from last year's flood and must keep an eye on future growth that could mean a new elementary school could be needed. Rostad said the board will keep a close eye on growth on North Hill and in southeast Minot.
Foster said she was excited to be elected to be the board and is anxious to continue the board's work. Her first meeting after being appointed last year to the board was on flood business, so she is anxious to finish the work the board began of rebuilding the flooded schools. She wants to see that work through to completion.
Velk, a vice president in business banking with Bremer Bank, thanked everyone who supported him in the race and said he's also eager to help with the flood recovery effort and the other work of being on the board. He will have a willing sounding board in his wife, the former board vice president.
"She's always a good resource," he said.