Election results you may have missed

Dakota County Attorney Primary

Kathy Keena, interim Dakota County attorney, and Matt Little, a former state senator, will move on in the race to serve the south metro county.

The candidates are looking to fill the seat left by James Backstrom, who retired in 2021 due to ongoing health concerns. 

In May 2021, the Dakota County Board appointed Keena to serve out the remainder of Backstrom’s term. She has served in the county attorney’s office for 22 years, including as chief deputy and head of the criminal division.

Little served as a state senator from 2017 to 2021 for District 58. He lost reelection after his first term to Republican Sen. Zach Duckworth. 

Legislative primaries

Ben DeNucci, Itasca County commissioner and the DFL-endorsed candidate, won a close race against challenger Kim (Kotanis) McLaughlin in the DFL primary for Senate District 7. The newly drawn district includes the northern half of Aitkin County and parts of Itasca and St. Louis counties. 

Andrea Zupancich, mayor of Babbitt, won comfortably against Kelsey Johnson in the Republican primary for Senate District 3 in northeastern Minnesota. The candidates seek to replace Sen. Tom Bakk, an independent who retired after a momentous, two-decade Senate career. This marks Zupancich’s first candidacy as a Republican; she was among a handful of Minnesota DFL mayors who endorsed Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. 

Rep. Jordan Rasmusson, who represents Fergus Falls, narrowly won against Nathan Miller in the GOP Senate District 9 primary. Rasmusson, a Harvard College graduate and business consultant, earned the Republican endorsement for the seat that will represent Otter Tail, Wilkin, Traverse, Grant and part of Douglas Counties.

Alicia Kozlowski, the daughter of a Mexican father and Ojibwe mother and currently a community relations officer with the city of Duluth, prevailed over Duluth Council President Arik Forsman in House District

School bond referendums

School districts trying to pass levies got mixed results Tuesday. There were 25 proposed projects across 17 school districts, according to tallies from the Minnesota School Boards Association. Eleven projects passed, but 14 were rejected. 

South Washington County residents — by a nearly two-to-one margin — rejected a $462 million bond referendum. The 10-year plan — one of the largest in state history — would have funded two new elementary schools, expanded three high schools and helped with additional school improvements. The project also planned to close Newport Elementary School, one of the most diverse in the district, by 2025. 

The estimated tax increase was about $25 a month for a $300,000 home. 

A $135 million bond referendum passed in suburban St. Louis Park. The money will go to school building improvements and safety. Voters also renewed a $3.5 million levy for technology. Homeowners with a median St. Louis Park home — valued at $331,800 —  will pay about $19 extra in taxes per month. 

Voters in the Dover-Eyota school district, located in southeast Minnesota, narrowly passed two bond referendums: Nearly $18 million for renovations and maintenance, and $3.7 million targeted at improving ventilation and adding classrooms.  

In central Minnesota, Rocori School District voters rejected two bond proposals. The first a $63.8 million bond meant for security improvements, remodeling and an early childhood center. The other was nearly $9 million to build an activity center with multipurpose sports courts, a pool and a dance studio.