Tuesday's filing by three candidates for the District 1 Crow Wing County Board seat means there will be a primary for that post.
The three candidates are Denny Schmidt, Al Gmeinder and Phil "PJ" Trusty.
Trusty has served on the Fort Ripley Township Board since 1994 and has been chairman for 13 years.
Trusty, 40, said District 1 is diverse in terms of land use, from the growth of Baxter and Brainerd to the rural areas of Daggett Brook and Platte Lake Township. He said he wants residents in all parts of the district to have a voice in the county's future.
PJ Trusty
"It's a county commissioner's job to make sure they're heard," he said.
A Brainerd High School graduate, Trusty has lived in the county for 38 of his 40 years. He is member of the Minnesota National Guard and works for the state at Camp Ripley with the automated target systems.
He said he expects the big issues for the next board will be the budget, all-terrain vehicle recreation and land issues.
"I'm not going to say right now how I'm going to address one or the other," he said.
He noted that Crow Wing County will have a new administrator and a fairly new board.
Trusty is a member of the Crow Wing County Association of Township Officers, the Brainerd Fire Advisory Board and St. Francis Church.
Two candidates, Al Gmeinder and Denny Schmidt, filed earlier for the District 1 seat on the Crow Wing County Board.
Gmeinder, 57, has been involved in a variety of Brainerd Lakes Chamber committees and government committees in the 27 years that he has owned and operated the Sawmill Inn in Brainerd. He said he wants to bring his business background to the county board.
"Fiscal responsibility is the key," he said.
Gmeinder has served on the chamber's board and several committees. He currently serves on the Main Street Committee and the Brainerd for a Lifetime Committee and has been a member of the Crow Wing County Housing and Redevelopment Authority for the past 11 years. He lives in St. Mathias Township.
Gmeinder said he didn't predict any great changes if elected but said there would be opportunities as the county continues to grow. He said he wants to help plan as the county looks toward having 25 percent of its population in the 65 and above age range.
"It will be a different county," Gmeinder said. "Our demographics of 65 and above will be above the state average.
Al Gmeinder
Gmeinder is married and has two children.
An interview with Schmidt's comments was published in Wednesday's Dispatch.
Filing Wednesday for the District 1 seat on the Crow Wing County Soil and Water Conservation District was incumbent Leonard Koering.
Ninth Judicial District judge candidates who filed Tuesday and Wednesday were incumbents Lois J. Lang of Grand Rapids for Court 12, John R. Solien for Court 3 and Kurt J. Marben for Court 22.
Doug Houge of Ironton, who announced his candidacy earlier, filed for re-election to the District 5 seat on the county board.
Two incumbent Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District supervisors filed for re-election. They were Leonard Koering of Fort Ripley in District 1 and Robert Becker of rural Pine River in District 4.
Also filing was Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, for the District 4B seat he was elected to in 1998.
MIKE O'ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
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