Lacey Laudenschlager

Three of the five board seats are up for election in 2024, with seven candidates having filed to get their names on the ballot. Of the three incumbents, only current board president Mike Gessner filed to chase another term, as longtime board members Jim Rostad and Bonny Berryman elected not to pursue reelection.

The rest of the pack seeking one of the three open seats includes two who previously announced: Realtor and District 5 Rep. Scott Louser and local accountant KayLee Bourquin, along with four new additions in Darrik Trudell, Lacey Laudenschlager, John Carey and Bill Irmen.

Laudenschlager is a Realtor at Signal Realty, and currently has four children enrolled in the district, whom she noted are third-generation MPS students. Laudenschlager was previously a teacher for Minot Catholic Schools before entering real estate.

Carey is a technical advisor in the United States Air Force at the Minot Air Force Base. Irmen is a retired language arts teacher, who taught at Minot Public Schools for 30 years, beginning first in 1991. Trudell, a Homeland Security special agent, was previously a candidate for Minot City Council in 2022 but dropped out due to a possible conflict of interest.

Trudell, Carey and Irmen could not be reached for comment.