As of press time Tuesday, President Barack Obama is projected to win a second term over Republican challenger Mitt Romney, according to MSN News reports.
Obama secured the 18 electoral votes from the state of Ohio — which was expected to shape the outcome of the close-race between the two candidates.
MSN News reports which candidates won which states.
Obama won: Oregon, Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, California, Hawaii, Washington, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Vermont, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Illinois .
Romney won: Missouri, Idaho, North Carolina, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Carolina, Indiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Georgia.
International Falls City Council
Bob Anderson and Pete Kalar will join the International Falls City Council when they are seated in January.
Anderson was elected mayor Tuesday with 59.54 percent of the vote, or 1,704 votes. He topped Paul Eklund who received 40.29 percent of the vote, or 1,153 votes.
Eklund will continue to serve the rest of his term as city councilor. Mayor Tim “Chopper” McBride will finish in January the term to which he was appointed and did not see reelection.
Anderson said he was deeply humbled by the support and said he would “spend every waking minute over the next four years justifying the confidence they have shown.”
Anderson said he’ll spend the next couple months doing some homework before January.
“I plan to spend some time going through the 2013 budget the council has put together, understanding it’s just budget and can be changed even after first of year,” said Anderson, noting that the budget is adopted in December, but is just a guideline for spending.
“I will be going through the budget with a fine tooth comb to see if we can’t bring some dollars out of that to work on the infrastructure in the community,” said Anderson.
The incoming mayor said he owes many people a great deal of thanks for their support.
Kalar said he was overwhelmed by the support. He received 55.1 percent of the vote, or 1,544 votes over Willi Kostiuk, who received 44.68 percent of the vote, or 1,252 votes.
“I have no agenda,” said Kalar. “I will just do the best i can and will work hard.... A kid from South Falls, who would have thought.”
Kalar said he’ll try to get more familiar with the issues in the city and noted that economic development and infrastructure improvements top the list.
Falls School Board
In a close race for the International Falls School Board, Mike Holden came out with the most votes at 2,717 votes or 22.42 percent, followed by Michelle Hebner with 2,163 votes, or 17.85 percent, and Gordy Dault with 1,886 votes, or 15.56 percent.
“The win feels great,” Holden told The Journal. “I’m really excited and I’m really looking forward to getting on the board and working hard to make things better.”
Hebner, the only candidate to be reelected to the board, said she is looking forward to working with the new board and “making positive improvements” within the school district. Hebner has served on the board since 2006.
Dault told The Journal his goal is to provide leadership for the board “so we can make progress on trying to get the best education possible for our students.”
Other candidates that fell just short of a seat include Mark Lassila, who received 1,778 votes, or 14.67 percent of votes; Harley Droba, received 1,762 votes, or 14.66 percent of votes; and incumbent Stuart Nordquist, who received 1,762 votes, or 14.54 percent.
Ranier City Council
In the contest for the mayor seat in Ranier, Dennis Wagner came out the winner with 59.94 percent, or 196 votes, over Ronald Wilcox Wilcox who received 129 votes.
On his way to Williston N.D., when Wagner received the news of the win, he told The Journal he has “all kinds of plans” for the city of Ranier.
“I definitely have a plan,” he said. “I’m very excited about this.”
Wagner said he looks forward to working with the Ranier City Council on ways to bring cash flow into the city and working on areas that need improvements.
“I’m not very good at taking no for an answer and I’m going to get a lot of things done,” Wagner said. “There is a lot going on in Ranier, and I am going to make sure someone is looking out for the city. I think I’m the most qualified for the job.”
The outgoing mayor, Ed Oerichbauer, did not seek reelection and has held the seat since 2006.
In June of 2011, the council agreed to extend the mayor’s term from two years to four years.
In an uncontested race for two open Ranier seats, Tony Cole received 164 votes and Todd Coulombe received 240 votes.
Koochiching County Commissioner District 5
Wayne Skoe was elected to represent Koochiching County Commissioner District 5 with 782 votes, or 66.7 percent of the votes, over Linda Dreher, who received 377 votes, or 32.2 percent
Skoe said he hadn’t seen the end results of Election Day and was trying to download the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office website when he talked to The Journal.
“You can call it excited or apprehensive,” said a laughing Skoe. “I haven’t had a chance to let it sink in yet. “It’s a challenge I am looking forward to. It’s gong to be something I’ve never done before and I guess it’s a new and exciting challenge.”
Senate District 3
As of press time, the vote totals for Senate District 3 between Sen. Tom Bakk and Jennifer Havlick where not complete. With 24.3 percent of the state reporting, Bakk was leading with 62.5 percent of the vote, or 4,167 votes.
Bakk said he looked forward to representing Koochiching County.
“It’s so much like St. Louis County — the natural resources, recreation, and I’ve always wanted to represent a paper mill,” he said. “I’ve represented mines, but I feel I understand heavy industry.”
Bakk was in St. Paul helping out the DFL push, he said.
House District 3A
With 31.3 percent of the state voting, Rep. David Dill was leading with 67.2 percent, or 4,666 votes, over Jim Tuomala, at 32.8 percent or 2,279 votes.
Dill said he’s made it clear since redistricting brought him into Koochiching County — “I felt like my home territory was expanding.”
Dill said the large district will create challenges and barriers that will force reliance on electronic technology and telephones, as well as the various media in his district.
He said his 10 years of legislative experiences dealing with natural resources issues relate well to Koochiching County and that his No. 1 goal will be to create an economic environment that allows people “to come home, have a good life and raise a family, go to church and enjoy the outdoors.”
And in his position, he said his job will be to assist those “entrepreneurs, individuals and consortiums of people who can create the economic opportunity for folks to come home.”
See The Journal’s website and Saturday’s edition for additional election coverage and results.
