Candidate emerges in redistricted Mille Lacs
Dunham seeks to represent Princeton area
By Joel Stottrup
The redistricting of Mille Lacs County's five commissioner districts, effective next Jan. 1, became official May 28 and already one Princeton resident intends to run in redrawn District 1. Dale Dunham, who recently retired from managing Princeton Public Utilities, announced this week he intends to file next month for the commissioner seat in District 1 which will consist only of the city of Princeton. District 1 now consists of the city of Princeton and Princeton Township. Dunham's background also includes serving many years as a commissioner on the Princeton Public Utilities Commission, being a former Princeton City Council member, and having run a Sears catalog store in Princeton. Dick Jackson, who served three terms as commissioner in District 1 before being beaten by Roger Neske in 2000, was asked if he plans to run in the new district and Jackson said he has been thinking about it but hasn't decided. Formal approval of the redistricting follows the same plan the Mille Lacs County Board approved in March and was reported in the March 28 Union-Eagle. When first approved it was open for any challenges but none were received by last week's county board meeting where the redistricting was made official. Minnesota's 87 counties, just like legislative and congressional districts, redrew boundary lines this year to reflect changes in population so that balance could be maintained in the representation. The city of Princeton, in fact, could have had its own district during redistricting a decade ago because the population numbers supported that, but no one challenged the old district setup and it was kept, Mille Lacs County Auditor-Treasurer Phil Thompson told the Union-Eagle in March. Two commissioners in new District 2 The new District 2 that will take effect poses a dilemma for commissioners Roger Neske of rural Princeton and Dave Tellinghuisen of rural Foreston. Neske now serves current District 1 and Tellinghuisen serves current District 2. But District 2 will take in a new territory starting in January that will include both their residences. That means if both want to try for the commissioner post in District 2, they would be opponents. New District 2 will include the townships of Princeton, Greenbush and Milo and the cities of Pease and Foreston. Current District 2 consists of the townships of Greenbush, Bogus Brook and Milo and the cities of Pease and Foreston. Attempts were made to contact Neske and Tellinghuisen Tuesday morning to see if they intend to run and they weren't available. But Neske's wife Linda said Roger has not yet made up his mind, and Tellinghuisen's daughter Sarah said the same about Tellinghuisen. District 3 remains unchanged, consisting of the townships of Milaca and Page and the city of Milaca. Longtime commissioner Paul Reiman from Milaca, who is in that district, has said he will not seek reelection. District 4, which is represented by Robert Hoefert from the Isle area, will include the townships of Bogus Brook, Borgholm, Hayland, Mudgett, Dailey, Lewis, Onamia and Bradbury, and the cities of Bock and Onamia. Current District 4 has the townships of Bradbury, Dailey, Kathio, Onamia and South Harbor and the city of Onamia. The big difference in the redistricting of District 4 is that it will no longer abut Mille Lacs Lake. District 5, represented by Frank Courteau from the Onamia area, will take in, under its new boundaries, the townships of Isle Harbor, South Harbor, Kathio and East Side and the cities of Isle and Wahkon. That district will then represent the entire area surrounding the Mille Lacs County portion of Mille Lacs Lake. District 5 now consists of the townships of Borgholm, Eastside, Hayland, Isle Harbor, Lewis and Mudgett, and the cities of Bock, Isle and Wahkon. All the commissioner terms will be up for election in the fall because of redistricting. The initial term for Districts 1, 3 and 5 will be for two years and Districts 2 and 4 will be for four years. Once the first term of Districts 1, 3 and 5 expire, the new terms will be four years. The purpose of having the short terms at first is so eventually all the districts won't be up for reelection at the same time, barring possible redistricting a decade from now. Auditor-Treasurer Thompson told the Union-Eagle in March that it was a difficult decision for the commissioners to end up with only one district that would represent the area adjacent to Mille Lacs Lake, instead of two districts. That is "especially with all the issues up there," he added. Thompson was referring to the dispute the county has with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe over the band's reservation boundaries. The band contends its reservation consists of 61,000 acres, taking in a large area of the northern part of the county. Mille Lacs commissioners contend the 61,000-acre reservation was disestablished through the courts in the 1800s and the county has sued to have the federal court rule on the matter. One added note is that in redistricting at the state and federal level, the entire county remains within U.S. Congressional District 8. The entire county will be within Minnesota Senate District 16 and Minnesota House District 16A (changed from 17 and 17A.) Minnesota Senate District 16 also includes portions of Morrison and Benton counties. The filing for county, state and federal offices will be from July 2 until 5 p.m. on July 16.
Princeton Union-Eagle
P.O. Box 278
Princeton, MN 55371
Telephone: 763-389-1222
Fax: 763-389-1728
E-Mail: pueproduction@ecm-inc.com
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