Pautsch won the election by getting 44.69% of the votes cast in Gaylord. She received the support of 341 voters. That was 27 votes more than challenger Carl Wetzel who has two years left on his City Council term. There were 108 write-in votes cast for Gaylord Mayor.

No stranger to City Government is Pautsch as she has served on the Gaylord City Council since 1993. In her campaign for Mayor, Pautsch said she would push for creating long term and sustainable strategies to address budget priorities. The City will have to come up with new revenue sources or make cuts, she explained.

Pautsch will take over Doug Quast’s Mayor duties during the City’s annual organizational meeting in January. Quast served as Mayor for six years (three terms).

There were 763 votes cast in the City of Gaylord precinct. That is approximately 65% of the registered voters. There were 54 accepted absentee ballots.

In the 2008 presidential election, 1,000 Gaylord residents cast their vote. That was similar to the 2004 election. In the 2006 general election, there was 841 votes cast in the City of Gaylord.

Uecker and challengers Landaas, Losure and Susan Johnson-Schmitt were vying for three spots on the Gaylord City Council. Current council members Brenda Pautsch and Pat Pinske did not file for reelection.

Uecker, who is completing her first term on the City Council, received 533 votes. Landaas and Losure tallied 458 and 441 votes respectively while Johnson-Schmitt had the support of 393 voters. There were 24 write-in votes in the Gaylord City Council race.

The three winners Tuesday will begin their four year council member terms in January when the City holds its annual organizational meeting. They will join current council members Carl Wetzel and Chad Muchow.

Joy Cohrs of New Auburn Township defeated Steve Gillaspie of Green Isle Township 751 to 497 in the District Four Commissioner race. Cohrs’ victory is also historic because she is the first woman to be elected to the Sibley County Board of Commissioners.

District Four includes the City of Green Isle, City of New Auburn, Green Isle Township, New Auburn Township, Transit Township, Bismarck Township, Moltke Township, and Grafton Township.

Cohrs will fill the seat held by Charlie Woehler of Green Isle Township. Woehler has served four and a half terms, according to the County Auditor’s Office.

Jim Nytes of Henderson Township defeated incumbent Leo Anderly of Jessenland Township in the District One Commissioner race 721 to 674. The First Commissioner District includes the City of Henderson, and Washington Lake, Henderson, Jessenland, and and Faxon Townships.

Harold Pettis of Gibbon was re-elected District Five Commissioner. Pettis, who was unopposed, has served three terms. The Fifth Commissioner District includes the Cities of Gibbon and Winthrop, and Severance, Cornish, and Alfsborg Townships.

Other County officials were unopposed in the election.

Elected were Attorney David Schauer, Auditor Lisa Pfarr, Recorder Kathy Dietz, Sheriff Bruce Ponath, and Treasurer Mary Fisher.

Thomas Pfarr was elected Soil and Water Supervisor for District One. Paul Wiemann was elected Soil and Water Supervisor for District Two. Both were incumbent candidates.

There was a 71.92% voter turnout in Sibley County, according to the County Auditor’s Office.

The top vote-getter was Dose with 2,156 votes, followed by Woehler with 2,154 votes, and Karl with 1,975 votes. The three incumbents were unopposed for the three, four-year terms of office.

Beth DuFrane defeated Casey McCue for the two-year term on the Board of Education 1,451 to 1,039. The two-year term was created by the resignation of Jodi Hanson earlier this year. Tim Dolan was appointed to fill the position until the end of the year.

Roger Becker, who has served as mayor for 24 years, was re-elected with 88 votes. His challengers Pam Horton and Craig Lowden each received 41 votes.

Residents re-elected Elizabeth Frahm to a four-year term on the City Council with 106 votes and elected Sheri Lowden with 74 votes. Challengers Rebecca Brockoff and Linda Stark received 59 and 45 votes respectively.

Doug Munsch was unopposed for the two-year term of office. He received 138 votes.

Four candidates were vying for two spots on the Arlington City Council. Newcomer Jason Ruehling was the top vote-getter with 421 votes. Incumbent Curt Reetz also won a seat on the Arlington City Council with 410 votes. Jennifer Nuesse and Cheryl Rovinsky received 252 and 211 votes respectively.

Four candidates were vying for two City Council seats in Henderson. Kelly Braun and Randall Tiegs won those seats with 236 and 179 votes respectively. Daniel Reiman received 161 votes and Lamona Phillips 134 votes.

This was the only race for area townships. Brad Voss was elected to the two-year supervisor’s term in Transit Township, which was created by the resignation of Arden Kuehn. Wayne Grams was re-elected clerk.

Kelso Township voters elected Ed Hohnstein supervisor in a write-in ballot with four votes. No one filed for office. He will be contacted by township officials to see if he will accept the position.

Mary Ann Buck was elected to the two-year supervisor’s term. She had been appointed to the position following the death of her husband, Maurice Buck. Marlyes Latzke, who had served as deputy clerk for several years, was elected clerk. Long-time clerk Jim Pfarr did not seek re-election.

Incumbents were elected in other area townships.

In Alfsborg Township, James Kuphal was elected supervisor and Walter Asmus was elected clerk.

Dryden Township residents re-elected Allen Fredin supervisor and Lori Doering clerk.

In New Auburn Township, Dale Schauer was re-elected supervisor and Donald Wolff was re-elected clerk.

Sibley Township residents re-elected Ed Pioske supervisor and David Kahle clerk.

Sibley Township voters also approved combining the clerk and treasurer’s position 88 to 25. Kahle has been serving as both since the death of treasurer Karl Dietz last year. The office will be combined effective Jan. 1, 2011.

Four townships – Sibley, Dryden, Kelso and New Auburn – approved a measure to transition to six year terms for town supervisors. In the past, the supervisors have served four year terms. The votes in each township approving the measure were as follows:

Sibley – 75 to 42
Dryden – 87 to 38
Kelso – 74 to 58
New Auburn – 96 to 85

In an attempt to save money, the City of Gaylord is cooperating, on a trial period, with the Sibley County Sheriff’s Department. The County is providing “on call” coverage for approximately 12 hours per day. This allows the City to operate with one less full-time police officer position than it has in the past. It is estimated that this practice could save the City approximately $60,000 annually.

The possibility of a smaller police force prompted a petition which was presented to City Hall last month. The petition read: In July, 2010, the Gaylord City Council will be discussing the future of the cities police force. One of the options being discussed is the elimination of the City police force and contracting with the Sibley County Sheriff. If you are in favor of keeping the current City of Gaylord law enforcement as is, please join us in support by signing this petition which will be forwarded to the City Council for their consideration.

The petition was deemed “sufficient”, according to requirements spelled out in the City Charter. Also, the petition required the City Council to submit to the wishes of the petitioners or call for a special election.

Council members voted 4-1 in favor of holding an election. Council member Carl Wetzel called it an “emotional issue” and said he would like to see everyone have a chance to make an informed decision.

Brenda Pautsch was the lone council member opposed to an election. “I just don’t know if we need to spend money to find out something I think we already know,” Pautsch said.

The City was informed by the County that it is too late to vote on this issue during the November 9th general election. The earliest a special election could be held would be December 13th, according to City Attorney Donald Lannoye.

Gaylord held a special election in March asking voters if the City should be authorized to issue general obligation bonds to defray costs of a new swimming pool. Voters approved the bonding by a 2-1 margin. According to City staff, it cost approximately $1,000 to conduct that special election.

Public safety and money were among the concerns expressed at last week’s public hearing which was attended by approximately 30 people. A majority of those in attendance appeared opposed to the City cooperating with the County for law enforcement services.

Former Gaylord Mayor John Schwartz said the County is an excellent alternative but he believes the City can afford and needs its own police department.

Gaylord resident Jim Landaas believes more information needs to be presented to the public. He wondered about response time for each law enforcement entity and questioned costs. Landaas also noted that the signatures for the petition were attained quickly and said that “speaks volumes about what the public is thinking.”

Approximately two weeks into its cooperation with the County, City Administrator Kevin McCann said there has been no issues reported to the City. The City opted to have the County respond to emergency calls only. The County has been called to handle Gaylord “emergencies” 11 times through the first two weeks of the trial period, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

When the County is called out, the City is charged $45 per hour. There is no charge when the County responds to a “medical” or when the Gaylord Ambulance Service is on scene.

Former City Council member Dale Breuer said the argument for or against a full police department will go on forever. He told council members to “put it to a vote, then put it to bed.”

Council member Chad Muchow reminded those at the public hearing that the cooperation with the County now is on a trial basis. He said the City is trying to be diligent in looking at ways to cut costs.

Pautsch added that she has talked to area law enforcement officials who believe Gaylord is big enough and has enough activity to support a full time police department.

Mayor Doug Quast thanked the citizens for attending the public hearing and said there were some “very good points brought up.”

According to McCann, the City Council will need to set a date for the special election at its next meeting. The ballot question will also need to be determined, he explained.

According to the State Patrol, Zeiher, 48, was driving a car westbound on Highway 25 when the car crossed the centerline and collided with an eastbound dump truck, driven by Homer C. Martin, 72, of Plato.

Zeiher was wearing a seatbelt and the airbag of his car was deployed. Zeiher died at the scene. Martin, who was wearing a seatbelt, suffered no apparent injury.

The State Patrol was assisted by the Arlington Ambulance, Green Isle Fire and Rescue, Belle Plaine Fire and Rescue, Belle Plaine Police Department, and the Sibley County Sheriff’s Office.

Zeiher’s obituary is published in the obituaries.