Elections fill the headlines

Nov. 8, 1962 – Minnesotans were still wondering who their governor was in the race between incumbent Gov. Elmer L. Anderson and Lt. Gov. Karl Rolvaag. The election results were close enough to necessitate a recount. 

The Glenwood High School Laker band was to appear in concert for its annual fall presentation under the direction of its director, George Opheim. The flute section of the band was to be featured during the concert. 

Waterama Queen Carol Hustad was a  part of the annual Halloween Festival at Anoka. She was accompanied to Anoka by commodore and Mrs. H. M. Halverson. 

Knute Eide cast the first ballot on the north side of Glenwood in the general election, something he had been doing since the year 1937. In order to be the first voter, Eide showed up at the polling place one-half hour before the polls opened.

Nov. 9, 1972 – Richard Nixon was elected in the national election, though Pope County voters supported his opponent, South Dakota Sen. George McGovern. County voters also played a part in electing Gov. Karl Rolvaag and Sen. Walter Mondale. Both carried Pope County. Bob Bergland defeated Jon Haaven in his bid for the Congress. Among those elected were Charlie Berg and Delbert Anderson. 

Granville Walburn, of Villard, defeated the incumbent county commissioner, Tommy Wrolson, who sought his sixth consecutive four-year term. Mel Heggestad, of Starbuck, won re-elected to his county commission post, running unopposed for the position. 

Ballots-954 of them-were cast in four county village elections. Wesley Brosh defeated the incumbent, Carl Smith, in the Lowry race. In Sedan the incumbents, Orlyn Olson and Evelyn Austvold, were re-elected as were the incumbents in Villard. In Starbuck, Jim Totushek was elected by a write-in,though he didn’t run for re-election to his position on the village council. 

Nov. 11, 1982 – The Federal Communications Commission announced that it had granted Dove Broadcasting a construction permit to build a commercial FM radio station in Glenwood. The facility was expected to have 3,000 watts of power. The company planned to have the station on the air by March 1983. 

The Glacial Ridge Hospital announced that it would open a fitness center, hoping to have area residents improve the general condition of their health. Ron Robinson would manage the center, which was designed to be complete with state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a whirlpool and sauna. 

In spite of a sluggish economy, the Tribune reported that the development of the Plaza units at Glenwood Retirement Home were slightly ahead of schedule. Gordon Amble, administrator of the home, announced that eight of the 10 planned units were already sold. 

Nov. 9, 1992 –  The cities of Glenwood, Lowry, Starbuck and Villard held elections for city offices on Nov. 3. Commissioner Jeanne Olson was re-elected to her seat on the Glenwood City Commission. Tim Torguson won the second seat on the Commission. 

The city of Glenwood had a 71.6 percent voter turnout at the polls. The election judges had a long, but busy day as they gave ballots to 1,365 voters. A total of 253 new voters were registered.

Pope County followed the state and nation in supporting Bill Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States. He tallied a total of 2,619 votes or 43.8 percent of the total of votes cast for president in the county. Glenwood Mayor Don Schaub voted against further development on the property of Dairyland Computer and Consulting Company to decide the split vote between the four commissioners. 

Nov. 11, 2002 – Although it wasn’t a county record, a large percentage of the county’s population headed to the polls on Tuesday for this year’s general election. 

Of the 8,110 registered voters in Pope County, 5,739 filled out a ballot on Tuesday or sent in their votes via absentee ballot. The county’s voter turnout was officially at about 71 percent, which was about 10 percent points higher than the states voter turnout. A total of 969 people were newly registered at their precincts. 

Pope County Sheriff Tom Larson will continue to serve as sheriff for the next four years. Pope County Attorney Belvin Doebbert, running unopposed, was re-elected with 97.8 percent of the vote. He received 4,880 votes. Pope County Recorder Darby Bowen, running unopposed, received 5,102 votes and there were 23 write-in votes. Pope County Auditor-treasurer Mary Pischke, running unopposed, received 5,227 votes to gain 99.52 percent of the votes. There were 25 write-in votes. 

John R. Stone was elected as the new mayor of Glenwood. Stone received 706 votes. Mary Ballard received 426 votes. Ballard will remain on the commission as she still has two years remaining in her term.

Nov. 12, 2012 – Over 150 people attended the annual Hammer Breakfast for Habitat for Humanity of Prairie Lakes last week. Emcee for the meeting was board president Ron Cin. The speaker for the event was Peter Nelson who talked about his early involvement in Habitat as a college student. 

Pope County voters took their right to vote seriously and turned out in force for the general election last Tuesday, with 90.7 percent of registered voters casting a ballot; that compares to 75.81 percent statewide. 

Going with the lowest bids possible, demolition of three buildings on Minnesota Ave. in Glenwood, the “Culligan” buildings, would run $52,750. The derelict buildings were officially tax forfeited last summer, making Pope County the property’s manager under Minnesota law. The cost of their demolition includes two separate bids: one for building demolition includes property restoration at $43,250, and another for removal of hazardous materials at $9,500.