The first local special election of the year was Feb. 10, and two northwest Minnesota counties hosted special elections to fill vacancies on their county boards of commissioners.
Robert Durant will now represent Mahnomen County District 1, which is the city of Mahnomen’s district. He garnered 46 votes compared to his opponent, Brian Ose, with 40 votes. Julie Hanson earned all 19 of the special election’s write-in results.
Ross Pape was sworn in Tuesday, Feb. 17, after being successful in the Polk County special election for Commissioner District 5. The district includes wards in East Grand Forks and surrounding townships. Pape garnered 321 votes compared to his opponent, Brad Grunhovd, who received 79 votes.
Most special elections can only occur on specific dates, per state statute. For 2026 those dates are:
- Feb. 10
- April 14
- May 12
- Aug. 11
The next special elections in Northern Minnesota are April 14, when the Aitkin and Staples-Motley school districts will ask voters to approve building projects.
-
Lorie Shaull/KAXEExtreme fire conditions caused some of the 17 wildfires burning in the Superior National Forest to rapidly spread July 13-14, 2026. -
Contributed/Lorie ShaullMonths before the midterms, the Trump administration dismantled a bipartisan federal commission that serves local offices that oversee voting. -
Lorie Shaull/Special to KAXEThe library matched the anonymous matching donation for $30,000 it received in June 2026. A larger fundraising goal is aimed at increasing public hours in 2027. -
Contributed/University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering CenterDue to smoke from Boundary Waters wildfires, the MPCA issued air quality alerts for large parts of Minnesota. The alert lasts until at least Friday, July 16, 2026.
