Voters Endorse Stability Across Mahaska County
Candidates and community members process the voting results on Tuesday night after an extensive delay in reporting. Toubekis read the results aloud to those gathered.
Mahaska County Voters Stick With Familiar Faces as Oskaloosa Chooses Stability Over Change
OSKALOOSA — Mahaska County voters went to the polls Tuesday and, for the most part, decided to keep things steady. Longtime Oskaloosa Mayor David Krutzfeldt easily won another term running unopposed. Two new faces — Andy Holmberg and Javin Sword — were elected to the City Council’s at-large seats, and the city’s public measure failed to gain enough support to pass.
The Oskaloosa Community School District also saw heavy voter turnout, with three candidates — James Feudner, Tyler Wilson, and Aaron Hinnah — leading the at-large race, and Katie Johnston winning the open vacancy seat on the school board.
Unofficial results were released Tuesday night by the Mahaska County Auditor’s Office.
Oskaloosa city races
Voters overwhelmingly backed incumbent Mayor David Krutzfeldt, who earned 1,289 votes compared to 54 write-ins. That’s nearly 96 percent of all votes cast for mayor, showing strong continued support for Krutzfeldt’s leadership.
In Ward 1, incumbent Janet Hermsen easily held her seat with 190 votes, while just three write-ins were recorded.
The most-watched contest was for the two at-large City Council seats. Three candidates ran — Andy Holmberg, Javin Sword, and Nicholas Ryan. When the ballots were counted, Holmberg led with 1,291 votes and Sword followed with 687. Ryan finished third with 546. There were 9 write-in votes. Holmberg and Sword will take the two open seats on the council.
Ward 3 voters also re-elected their representative. Ronda Almond received 392 votes, with only five write-ins cast.
A public measure that appeared on the city ballot failed to pass. The proposal received 687 “yes” votes and 805 “no” votes.
Oskaloosa Community School District
The Oskaloosa school board race saw one of the largest turnouts of the night. Six candidates ran for the three at-large seats: Tyler Wilson, Tasha Mae Janssen, Scott Van Veldhuizen, Aaron Hinnah, Kathy L. Butler, and James Feudner.
The unofficial results were:
• James Feudner – 1,504
• Tyler Wilson – 1,342
• Aaron Hinnah – 1,275
• Scott Van Veldhuizen – 891
• Kathy L. Butler – 798
• Tasha Mae Janssen – 724
• Write-ins – 14
Feudner, Wilson, and Hinnah will fill the three at-large seats.
In the separate race to fill a board vacancy, Katie Johnston won comfortably with 1,488 votes. Crystal Jimenez Boender received 798 votes, and there were 10 write-ins.
Small-town elections across Mahaska County
Voters in smaller towns across the county also made their picks, many through close votes or write-ins.
Keomah Village — No mayoral candidates were listed, so all 35 votes went to write-ins. For city council, Alyce Chandler led with 37 votes, followed by Mark W. De Jong with 33, Derrick Bunnell with 27, Nathan Bradbury with 26, Ed Rozenboom with 19, Mitchell David Driscoll with 15, and Cliff Williams with 3. A public measure passed 42–12.
University Park — Mayor George Toubekis was re-elected with 73 votes. A write-in for Henry Road received 5. On the city council line, Mike Andersen led with 59 votes, and Josh Nicklaus had 41.
Rose Hill — Jacob Dannels was re-elected mayor with 14 votes to 2 write-ins. Council results were tightly packed: Julia Newcomb 13, Ashley Kunzler 14, Rob Dannels 13, Terry Lowe 14, and Ryan Humphrey 13, with six write-ins.
Beacon — Shawn Maxwell was elected mayor with 29 votes, defeating Dwight Teeter with 12. For city council, Thomas W. Van Der Veer led with 33 votes, Ron Kauffman and Richard Tomas each had 32, and Darrell Rust had 29. Write-ins totaled 37.
New Sharon — Thomas German defeated Lindsey Phillips for mayor, 150–78. On the council, Christian Huffman received 182 votes, Justin Stout 167, and write-ins 114.
Leighton — Andy Sytsma was elected mayor with all 16 votes cast. The five city council candidates — Kenneth L. Ver Meer, Kimberly A. Sytsma, Henry W. Van Roekel, Steven Nieuwsma, and Francis A. Ready — finished within a single vote of each other, all between 14 and 15.
Fremont — Mark K. Miller topped the city council race with 71 votes. Other results were: Mark Neff 52, Spencer Kissinger 45, Dollie Horn 38, Randy Hobbs 35, and six write-ins. Fremont voters also passed their public measure, 71–17.
What’s next
All results remain unofficial until the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors canvasses the votes. However, Tuesday’s totals make the winners clear: Oskaloosa will keep its longtime mayor, return incumbents in Wards 1 and 3, and add Holmberg and Sword as its new at-large council members. The city’s public measure failed to pass. The Oskaloosa school board will see Feudner, Wilson, and Hinnah take the at-large seats, with Johnston joining through the vacancy election.
Across Mahaska County, smaller cities largely chose familiar faces or relied on write-ins to fill open seats — a reflection of the county’s tradition of close-knit, grassroots local government where a few votes can still decide who leads a community.
