MANKATO — The final day of candidate filing generated several late entrants to local contests, delivering a challenger for Mankato’s longest-serving City Council member, creating a rematch for a Blue Earth County Board seat and offering a three-way race for an open board seat in Nicollet County.
The two-week filing period that ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday is for Minnesota offices that use the Aug. 13 primary election to narrow the list of contenders in time for the Nov. 5 general election.
Many other contests — including most city council and all school board races across Minnesota — don’t bother with a primary election. In those races, which use a later filing period running from July 30 to Aug. 13, all candidates will advance to the Nov. 5 ballot no matter how long the list.
Mankato City Council
Three Mankato City Council seats are on the ballot this year, but — barring a write-in campaign — the winners are already known for two of them.
No challengers filed against Ward 2 Council member Dennis Dieken or Ward 4 Council member Jenn Melby-Kelley, according to candidate lists compiled by the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.
A Belleview Avenue resident, Dieken has served on the council since 2016 and represents Ward 2, which covers all of Mankato north of Madison Avenue. Melby-Kelley is also an eight-year veteran of the council, representing Ward 4, which encompasses downtown, the Old Town/Washington Park areas, the Sibley Park and Lincoln Park neighborhoods and west Mankato.
But voters in those wards — as well as their counterparts across Mankato — will have a choice to make in November between Council President Mike Laven and challenger Brett Skilbred, who entered the race on Tuesday for the council’s at-large seat.
A Cardinal Drive resident, Laven has won five nonconsecutive four-year terms on the council. Laven is a Mankato native, a graduate of Minnesota State University and a longtime management employee with the company that operates the city’s McDonald’s franchises.
Among other duties, Laven has served as chairman of the Region Nine Development Commission, was recently named to the National League of Cities Transportation and Infrastructure Services Committee and has volunteered with various organizations assisting the homeless.
Skilbred came to Mankato from Indiana in 2012, previously working as a vice president for Jordan Sands and more recently as a partner in the local manufacturing firm OpOne Group. He is also involved in a 71-acre commercial-residential development at the intersection of Highway 14 and Victory Drive.
Reached by The Free Press Tuesday afternoon, Skilbred offered no criticism of Laven but said his candidacy offers “fresh perspectives, fresh ideas.”
Skilbred, who lives on Essex Road, pointed to his volunteer work, which has included fundraising for the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, Mankato Youth Place, South Central College and the United Way. He said he sees the City Council as the ultimate opportunity for community service.
His campaign will focus on livability, economic prosperity and fiscal responsibility, he said.
Mankato’s other three wards, as well as mayor, will be on the ballot in 2026.
Blue Earth County Board
Blue Earth County Commissioner Vance Stuehrenberg appears set to extend his 14-year tenure on the board to 18 years. The resident of East Main Street was the only candidate to file in District 2, which consists of a large portion of Mankato’s east side and part of Mankato Township.
In District 3, voters will see a pair of familiar names facing off for the second election in a row.
Commissioner Mark Piepho of Skyline, who previously served in the state House and state Senate, has been on the County Board since 2008.
His challenger is Ross Arneson, who won multiple terms as Blue Earth County attorney before not seeking re-election in 2014. In 2022, the Ellis Avenue resident filed for a seat on the County Board but fell to Piepho, who won more than 63% of the vote. District 3 consists of Skyline, west Mankato, the Minnesota State University campus and neighborhoods stretching from Glenwood Avenue to the southern city limits.
Nicollet County Board
District 4 Commissioner Mark Dehen filed for a second term on the Nicollet County Board on the opening day of the filing period, and no one joined the race against the former North Mankato mayor. District 4 encompasses North Mankato Precincts 3, 5 and 6.
But there was much more activity in District 2 — an open seat currently held by Terry Morrow of St. Peter, who isn’t seeking another term. District 2 is made up of Bernadotte, Brighton, Granby and Oshawa townships and the southern half of St. Peter.
At the start of the final day of filing, there were no candidates. At the end of the day, there were three.
They include Nicole Helget, an author and novelist who lives in rural St. Peter; business owner and art conservationist Amanda Malkin and Minnesota State University faculty member Beth Fisher.
Helget, along with authoring numerous books, has worked at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and as a writing instructor at Augsburg College, according to her Linkedin page. Her volunteer work includes serving on the board of the ECHO Food Shelf.
Malkin, who lives on Wettergren Street in St. Peter, is co-owner of The Smallest Cog Bicycle Shop in St. Peter and is the owner of a private art conservation practice. A Philadelphia native, she and her husband — Gustavus Adolphus College alum — moved to St. Peter following the birth of their twin daughters. Malkin, who has been involved in various initiatives supporting the arts in St. Peter, serves on the board of directors of the St. Peter Chamber of Commerce.
Fisher, an assistant professor at MSU, specializes in soil sciences, geology and water quality and said she sees soil health and water quality as critical issues in the region. They impact the productivity of farms, the water people drink and recreational opportunities, she said.
“I’d like to use my understanding of those issues to give back to my community,” said Fisher, a Wisconsin native who has lived in St. Peter for two years.
The top two voter-getters in the primary election between Helget, Malkin and Fisher will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Le Sueur County Board
The District 1 seat on the Le Sueur County Board provided a competitive race for voters on the first day of the filing period, and that two-way contest remained unchanged to the end.
Currently held by David Gliszinski of rural New Prague, who didn’t file for another term, the District 1 seat will go to either Liz Krocak of rural Montgomery or Dennis Tietz of rural New Prague. District 1 covers Le Sueur County’s northeastern corner.
Longtime District 3 Commissioner John King was the only candidate to file in a district that covers northwestern Le Sueur County including the city of Le Sueur.
Waseca County Board
In Waseca County, 1st District Commissioner Douglas Christopherson of rural New Richland and 2nd District Commissioner Brian Harguth of rural Waseca each filed for another term on the opening day of filing. Harguth remained unopposed when the filing deadline arrived, but Christopherson got an opponent on Monday — John Donahue of rural Janesville.
District 1 consists of New Richland, Waldorf and six townships, while District 2 is made up of the southeast corner of Waseca and rural areas immediately around the city.
