Dakota County residents filled board seats and approved education funds at the polls Tuesday.

Here’s a look at what voters were asked, what passed and how homeowners will be impacted.

Farmington

Voters in Farmington approved an operating levy that will provide approximately $1,236.60 per student annually, generating about $8 million per year for 10 years. The levy, which passed with more than 57% of the vote, will be used to sustain current class sizes, maintain literacy and math instruction, strengthen elementary enrichment opportunities and expand middle and high school career pathway options, according to the district.

Owners of a median-value $350,000 home in the area can expect to see their property taxes increase about $534 annually, or $45 per month, due to the passing referendum. The district notes that previously approved levies will expire in 2027 and 2031, reducing overall property taxes at those times.

Hastings

School board: Voters in the Hastings school district, ISD 200, elected Elaine K. Mikel-Mulder in a special election to fill a vacant school board seat. Mikel-Mulder handily won with more than 60% of the vote.

The seat was formerly held by Jenny Wiederholt-Pine, who died in February. Wiederholt-Pine, of Miesville, was a district soccer coach, restaurant co-owner, avid equestrian, wife and mother.

Elaine Mikel-Mulder (Courtesy of the candidate)

Mikel-Mulder, a mother, attorney and an alumni of Hastings, was elected this spring to fill the remainder of Weiderholt-Pine’s term.

“My friend and a woman who many in this community would consider an absolute giant and legend, Jenny Wiederholt, was one of the initial people who nudged me towards running for this position,” Mikel-Mulder said on her webpage. “Although my commitment to joining to the board is rooted in my personal passion for education, I really would like to do what I can to honor Jenny’s legacy in this community.”

Mikel-Mulder’s term will run from Jan. 5, 2026 until Jan. 1, 2029.

Lakeville

Lakeville voters overwhelmingly approved a request to renew an expiring capital projects levy that was first passed in 2015.

The levy, which passed with nearly 70% of the vote, will continue to generate roughly $4 million annually for 10 years for education technology like projectors and TVs, cybersecurity systems and equipment and software for K-12 STEM education and career-focused courses for high school students, according to the district.

A renewal is a request to maintain taxes at the current level and as a result there will be no new tax increase, per the district.

School board: Voters in the district, ISD 194, also elected Tony Reichenberger to the school board, unseating incumbent Brett Nicholson.

Reichenberger, a father and former attorney who currently works for an AI company, tallied 51% of the vote compared to Nicholson’s 48%. Reichenberger is committed to investing in teachers, collaborating with the community and improving the reputation of the district’s school board, according to his candidate webpage.

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan

Nearly 68% of voters in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district voted to renew and increase an expiring technology capital projects levy.

First approved in 2015 for 3.015%, voters approved a request to renew and increase the levy to 5.015%, which will generate an additional $6.4 million annually, resulting in about $15.5 million annually in technology funding for the next 10 years. The technology levy directly supports classroom instruction by funding student learning devices, digital tools, cybersecurity, communications systems, computer science education and career and technical education, according to the district.

Homeowners in the area with an estimated market-value home of $400,000 can expect to see their annual property taxes increase by about $85, or $7 per month, due to the passing referendum.

School board: Voters in the district, ISD 196, also elected Leah Gardner, Robin Cerio and Sakawdin Mohamed in the general school board election.

Each of the newly elected members are Eagan residents and currently on the school board with terms expiring Jan. 5. Their new terms will run from January 2026 to January 2030.

Catherine Diamond, a mother of three with a doctorate in public health, won ISD 196’s special election and will serve the remaining two years of former board member Sachin Isaac’s term. Diamond, who ran unopposed, was appointed to fill Isaac’s vacancy until an election could be held after his resignation in October 2024.

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St. Paul residents went to the polls in unexpectedly heavy numbers Tuesday to choose between re-electing St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter to a third term in office or elevating one of four challengers to the role.

Among those challengers, the ranked-choice election included state Rep. Kaohly Her, who entered the mayor’s race in August with a strong following but a short lead time to make her case for overhauling leadership at City Hall.

Early returns showed Carter and Her virtually neck-and-neck, with just 11 of 86 precincts reporting and Her ahead by little more than a percentage point, or 100 votes.

While hand counts — St. Paul’s traditional method of determining the winner in an instant run-off election — can take days, results in the mayor’s race were expected late Tuesday night, thanks to new open-source software acquired by the capital city for the purpose of digitally reallocating ballots.

Carter and Her

Carter had said his progressive record — which ranges from forgiving library fines and making youth sports free at rec centers to creating college savings accounts for all of the city’s newborns — had never faltered despite riots, pandemic and heavy pushback from the Trump administration, and he asked voters for three more years to continue that agenda.

Her, who once served as Carter’s policy director, had criticized the mayor for what she described as a lack of general responsiveness to voters and prospective business owners. In light of the city’s fiscal challenges, she called into question whether the city should re-evaluate or hold off on several of the mayor’s Parks and Rec priorities, from a protected bikeway along Summit Avenue to a promenade overlooking the Mississippi River along Kellogg Boulevard.

“I’d like to see change,” said Ben McMahon, a Her supporter who voted at the Hillcrest Rec Center on Ford Parkway in Highland Park. “I went to the debate a few weeks ago, and they were hung up on the Summit Avenue bike lanes. There’s a lot more going on in the city than the bike lanes. Look at downtown — 40% of the office buildings are empty.”

Some voters have noted that on key issues, Carter and Her were well aligned. Both said they were “yes” votes on two ballot questions — a special school district levy and charter amendment — and Her has worked closely on several of the mayor’s top priorities, including a citywide $15 minimum wage and college savings accounts for newborns.

Audra Grigus, 26, said she would rank Carter first and Her second. Both candidates had similar platforms, she said, but Carter had done a good job overall of running the city over his two terms. She thought the challenge from Her would make the mayor better at his job over the next three years if he wins.

“This election cycle has pushed Carter,” she said.

Three other challengers were less politically experienced but had become increasingly visible over the course of the election season. Yan Chen, a University of Minnesota biophysicist, and Mike Hilborn, who owns a power washing company, both criticized the mayor’s record on property taxes and spending, and Adam Dullinger, a licensed professional engineer, had presented himself as the race’s strongest proponent for bikeways and public transportation.

Support for candidates

While the mayor lined up support from a majority of the city council, labor unions and progressive advocacy groups active in St. Paul elections like SEIU and Faith in Minnesota, Her drew the support of St. Paul Firefighters Local 21 and Teamsters Joint Council 32.

Some groups, like the St. Paul Area Chamber, had chosen to stay out of the race, with the chamber calling business growth stagnant both downtown and citywide. The St. Paul DFL, which is reconstituting itself, did not endorse a candidate.

The newly-elected mayor will serve three years, instead of four, as a result of the city’s switch to even-year elections in 2028.

St. Paul voters also found two questions on their ballot. The St. Paul School District sought a special 10-year levy equivalent to more than $1,000 per student, adjusted annually for inflation, and another ballot question asked whether to amend the city charter to allow for administrative citations, or civil fines for ordinance violations.

Higher-than-anticipated voter turnout caught some chief elections judges pleasantly off guard. Jeff Maas, head judge for Ward 3, Precinct 4 at the Hillcrest Rec Center on Ford Parkway, said the mayor’s race and the school levy question drew more voters than he had predicted to the polls.

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“We’ve had lines and we’ve had to snake lines,” said Maas, who oversaw a team of eight full-day volunteers, during a late afternoon lull. “I wish I had one more judge.”

About 59,000 voters — or 34% of the city’s 169,950 registered voters — cast ballots in 2021, when Carter handily won re-election in the eight way mayor’s race but a ballot question around rent control faced a less certain path to victory. Nearly 62,000 voters cast ballots in the 10-way mayor’s race in 2017, which reached nearly 40% voter turnout and elevated Carter, the city’s first Black mayor, into office.

St. Paul voters on Tuesday went to the polls to decide on a school levy referendum that if approved would mean an increase in property taxes in order to provide additional funding to St. Paul Public Schools for the next ten years.

Early Tuesday night results were not in.

St. Paul voters voted yes or no on an increase to the district’s general revenue by $1,073 per pupil for 10 years, beginning with taxes payable in 2026. The 10-year tax is subject to increase with inflation.

The ballot language reads:

“The board of Independent School District No. 625 (Saint Paul), Minnesota has proposed to increase the School District’s general education revenue by $1,073 per pupil, subject to an annual increase at the rate of inflation. The proposed new referendum revenue authorization would be first levied in 2025 for taxes payable in 2026 and applicable for ten (10) years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.”

Voters approved a similar levy in 2018 which gave the district $1,180 per student, or $18.6 million per year plus inflation, in new revenue for 10 years.

The levy referendum on the ballot Tuesday would not revoke and replace the 2018 approved levy, which currently provides $1,167 per student, but will add onto it, according to Tom Sager, the district’s executive chief of financial services. Under state law, the school board could then choose to approve a one-time renewal of the 2018 levy as it’s set to expire without needing to bring it ahead of voters.

While the average St. Paul homeowners with a median-value home would see a $309 per year, or $26 per month, increase in their property taxes if the levy is approved, property owners won’t know the total changes to their property taxes for next year until city, county and school district levies are finalized in December.

How much to expect with city, county and school levies?

If the proposed city, county and school district levies are approved, including the special school district referendum, homeowners in St. Anthony Park, Battle Creek, Sunray, Highwood and downtown St. Paul would see their property taxes go up the least of any neighborhoods in the city, percentage-wise, while still seeing hikes of several hundred dollars.

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Homeowners in the North End, Payne-Phalen, Thomas-Dale/Frogtown and the West Side neighborhoods would see their property taxes go up the most percentage-wise.

Without additional funding from the proposed levy, district officials say they expect to make at least $37 million budget cuts for the 2026-27 school year. If approved by voters, the increase will generate approximately $37.2 million per year in additional revenue.

St. Paul schools officials worked hard to get the word out on the levy referendum, using tax dollars to do so. As of Oct. 29, the district has spent $59,977 on materials to inform the public on the referendum. Including the statutorily-required mailed notice to residents about the referendum, the district has spent $108,257.

Hormel Foods is cutting approximately 250 office roles from its workforce through early retirements and layoffs as part of a restructuring to “thoughtfully align resources.”

The giant Austin, Minn.-based food brand announced the cuts to its corporate and sales areas on Tuesday. The cuts will not impact workers in the food processing plants, according to Hormel.

The restructuring announcement did not state whether the 250 roles are being cut from its corporate offices in Austin or from other facilities in the company.

Of the approximately 3,300 Hormel employees based in Austin, 1,400 employees work in the corporate offices, according to Hormel’s website. Hormel also employs 1,900 people at its Austin processing plant.

Hormel said most of the changes are expected to be effective by the end of 2025. The company said that estimated restructuring charges of $20 million to $25 million are expected to be incurred in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.

That estimated $20 million to $25 million includes one-time pension benefits, cash severance payments, stock compensation expenses and employee benefit costs.

“Our focus is on providing support and resources to those impacted as they transition from the company,” said Interim CEO Jeff Ettinger. “Each person who is leaving has contributed to our organization, our culture and our success. We’re grateful for everything they’ve done.”

The maker of SPAM described the restructuring as part of the “company’s ongoing focus on balancing cost discipline with reinvestment in areas critical to its future.”

Hormel Foods President John Ghingo addressed that rebalancing.

“We’re directing resources toward technology, innovation, food safety and quality, and the capabilities — including people capabilities — that will shape our future. We’re confident that our ongoing investments will strengthen our brands, improve efficiency and ensure Hormel Foods stays competitive and responsive to the needs of our consumers and customers,” he stated in the announcement.