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Franzen to return for 6th term on Crow Wing County Board; Erickson wins open seat

Election 2026 Crow Wing County results
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KAXE

Erickson won in District 3 and Franzen won in District 4. They will begin their four-year terms in January.

BRAINERD — Incumbent Commissioner Rosemary Franzen handily won reelection to the Crow Wing County Board, while Brainerd City Council member Tad A. Erickson won the open seat.

Franzen, who has represented District 4 since 2006 and is a lifelong Brainerd resident, defeated challenger Dawn Espe. Espe is the executive director of nonprofit The Sowing Room.

Erickson, 41, defeated Dr. Jessica Tabatt, 41, by a smaller margin to fill the seat left by the retirement of Commissioner Steve Barrows. Erickson works as a principal planner for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Tabatt is a podiatrist who is not currently in practice.

County Commissioner District 3 includes parts of Brainerd and Baxter. County Commissioner District 4 includes part of the city of Baxter and the First Assessment District.

The winners of the elections will begin their four-year term in January.

Explore results by region or by race at this one-stop location for all the election results Northern Minnesotans are seeking.

Chelsey Perkins became the News Director in early 2023 and was tasked with building a new local newsroom at the station. She is based in Brainerd and leads a team of four reporters covering communities across Northern Minnesota from the KAXE studio in Grand Rapids and the KBXE studio in Bemidji.
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