KAXE contacted every candidate twice using contact information submitted to the Secretary of State's Office to invite them to participate in our Election Guide.
Candidate responses have not been edited and are published as submitted.
As necessary, our news team added contextual information clearly marked with an "editor's note" and in italics, though responses have not been uniformly fact-checked. With our small team of three, we are unable to proactively fact check every statement made by candidates. But we will make every effort to make note of inaccuracies if they come to our attention.
Please contact our news team at news@kaxe.org with questions or comments or to report any errors.
KAXE's Election Guide only includes candidates in contested races. Visit our full list of who's running for office in Northern Minnesota to see who else is on the ballot.
Mayor
Kenneth Raines
Incumbent: Yes
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Rory Sherman
Incumbent: No
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
City Council (Elect Two)
Wanda Lou Hardies
Incumbent: Yes
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Tim Kunnari
Incumbent: Yes
This candidate declined KAXE’s invitations to participate in the Election Guide.
Karen Lee Yuhala
Incumbent: No
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Natalie Zobova
Incumbent: Yes
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
City Council Special Election (Elect Two)
Lisa Lego
Incumbent: Yes
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Cindy Lemm
Incumbent: No
Age on Election Day: 68
Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
I am still a licensed Realtor but I am doing a lot of volunteer work with our volunteer fire department right now
Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
I have 7 years as a Planning Commisioner with Monticello and 1 year with the Big Lake Economic Authority as relevant experience in addition to 30+ years in Real Estate. Volunteer work with Federal Dam Fire & Rescue includes Communications and Grant Writing, both transferable skills.
Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.
We oversee the planning for the city in addition to the budgeting and code enforcement. We are the face of the city.
Why are you running for office?
I care about what happens here and I want to make Federal Dam a better place.
What are your priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.
We need long range planning for things like our older city sewer system, our city hall and bringing more businesses to the city.
Across the region, renters and owners are struggling to afford housing. If elected, what would you do to address the issues of availability and affordability for your constituents?
Most housing in Federal Dam is already fairly inexpensive when compared with many cities in the state. I am unaware of our constituents struggling with affordable housing here.
What effective policies will you support that will prepare your city now, next year and in the future to improve resiliency against climate change?
It will take more than our city, but if we have too many more winters like we had in 2023/2024 with poor ice fishing and little snow, we may have to take a hard look at climate change impacts here. There are a lot of resorts, restaurants, bait shops, etc. that depend on tourists all year long and if people can’t fish or snowmobile, it will have a lasting impact.
High taxation is a concern for many Northern Minnesotans. Please share any specific opinions you hold related to taxation, and how you plan to ensure tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively.
The city is already very fiscally responsible. We plan to look for grants to help with “wishlist items” over raising taxes unless absolutely necessary.
How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in government?
Our minutes are published online and we welcome our residents to City council meetings. I publish our meeting dates on our City Facebook page a couple of weeks in advance and implore residents to get the dates on their calendars and attend.
Linda Olson Monette
Incumbent: No
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Joseph F. Wagner
Incumbent: No
KAXE's attempts to contact this candidate were unsuccessful.
Still have questions for the candidates? Contact information for all those who've filed to run for office can be found at candidates.sos.state.mn.us.
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