When Luverne voters cast ballots in the general election this fall, they will have choices in local leadership.
Luverne Mayor Pat Baustian is being challenged by Isaac DeBoer for the privilege and responsibility of guiding city government.
Two open seats on the Luverne City Council will be contested on the general election ballot.
Josh Gangestad is challenging longtime council member Dan Nath for the North Ward seat on the City Council, and two candidates — Lori Hallstrom and Mert Kracht — are vying for the South Ward seat held by council member Scott Viessman, who is not seeking re-election.
All Luverne voters will select their pick for mayor, and the North and South Ward voters will have to make choices for their representation on the council.
How do we choose our leaders? How do we know which candidate will make the best leaders?
Luverne is a small enough town that voters can approach the candidates personally to ask questions. Maybe we already know enough about the candidates to make informed choices.
Perhaps we know they’re good Sunday school teachers or effective business people. Or we’ve seen their character in action — like helping a neighbor in need or volunteering for a cause.
Do these qualities make for good city government leaders?
What do we need to know about our candidates to make informed selections on our ballots?
Candidate forum set for Sept. 25. Which questions should we ask?
We at the Star Herald understand elections can be confusing, and we know there are many competing voices trying to influence votes.
That’s why we publish candidate questionnaires in the paper and online for voters to read, and that’s why we host candidate forums for voters to learn from conversations live and recorded in podcasts.
The six candidates in these three city races, mayor and two council seats, have agreed to participate in a candidate forum on Sept. 25.
The Star Herald will livestream and record the conversations for voters, and we hope it helps them choose their leaders.
We have a pretty good idea which local issues we’ll question candidates about, but we also want to hear from our readers, the city voters, about what they’d like us to pose for the candidates.
What can we ask candidates that will help voters in the ballot selections?
Send questions to editor@star-herald.com or call 507-283-2333. We will not publish or announce names of those submitting questions, but anonymous submissions will not be considered.
We welcome all sincere questions and appreciate your help in hosting productive conversations on Sept. 25.
