A spool of ‘I Voted’ stickers rests on a cart at Clutier City Hall during a past city-school election. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

With no candidates filing for any of the open Reinbeck City Council seats, Gladbrook’s mayor race, seats on both the Gladbrook and Garwin city councils, and one director district apiece on both the Gladbrook-Reinbeck and GMG school boards, the write-in vote will prove greatly important in determining a handful of local winners in the recent city-school election. Results will not be official until the second-tier canvasses are certified by the boards of supervisors next week.

Grundy County voter turnout for the 2025 city-school election was 28.73%, while Tama County’s turnout was 25.39%. According to the Iowa Secretary of State’s website, 2,508 ballots in Grundy County were cast on Nov. 4, 2025, out of 8,730 registered voters; in Tama County, 2,679 ballots were cast out of 10,551 registered voters.

The following results are unofficial results.

Reinbeck City Council

“There are three Reinbeck council seats up for election in 2025, but absolutely no one filed for those seats. All three winners will be write-ins,” Grundy County Assistant to the Auditor Angela Silvey told the newspaper last month following the news that incumbent Reinbeck city councilors Corey Dripps, Nathan Ragsdale, and Kyle Rasmussen all did not file paperwork to run for reelection, leaving the race wide open.

According to Silvey, Elisabeth Bueghly (131 votes), Peter Pease (241 votes), and Dale Wambold (16 votes) won the three seats by garnering the most write-in votes. Now it will be up to the winners to decide if they do in fact want the position.

“When a write-in candidate wins a city election and does not want the job, the winning candidate may submit a letter of resignation to the city clerk by 5 p.m. on the 10th day after the canvass,” Silvey explained in an email. “The office is vacant if the write-in winner does not resign by that deadline and fails to take the oath of office by the beginning of the new term. The city would then proceed with appointing someone to the position (which is most common) or calling for a special election.”

Grundy County’s first-tier canvass was scheduled for this past Wednesday, Nov. 12, while the resignation deadline is Monday, Nov. 24.

“If a letter of resignation is submitted, the city clerk notifies the person who received the next-highest number of votes,” Silvey continued. “If there is a tie, the board of supervisors draws lots to determine the winner. If the next highest vote-getter accepts, that person is considered the duly elected officer.”

Gladbrook election

In Gladbrook, no one filed to run for the position of mayor, including incumbent Mayor Trudi Scott. Wayne Nekola won the race with 72 write-in votes. The next highest vote-getter was Scott with 30 votes.

Three at-large city council seats were also on the ballot with only one individual filing paperwork, incumbent Mayor Pro Tem Roger Luehring. Luehring won his race with 288 votes.

For the other two council seats, Gregory Westwater received the most write-in votes with 15 votes, while Andrew Brallier received 11 write-ins.

Garwin election

In the Garwin election, incumbent Matthew Deam was the only candidate to file in the mayor’s race. Deam won his race with 54 votes (there was also one write-in vote).

Newcomer C. Ryan Collins was the sole candidate to fill for the at-large opening on city council, winning his race with 52 votes.

The council also had a race to fill a vacancy but no one filed to run. Keith Barloon received the most write-in votes with seven (7) out of 19 total cast.

Lincoln election

In the Lincoln election, the entire city council’s five, two-year term seats as well as the two-year office of mayor were on the ballot. Incumbent Mayor H. Trent Wentzien won his race with 46 votes.

Five candidates filed paperwork for the five council seats including incumbents Dale H. Meyer Jr., Michelle Clark, Gaylen Brandt, and John Eden, as well as newcomer Samuel Cahalan.

LINCOLN MAYOR (VOTE FOR 1)

H. Trent Wentzien 46

Write-in 0

LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL AT-LARGE (VOTE FOR 5)

John Eden 42

Dale Meyer 42

Samuel Cahalan 39

Michelle Clark 42

Gaylen Brand 47

Write-in 5

Gladbrook-Reinbeck school board

The Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District had four seats up for election including three at-large seats and one seat to fill a vacancy.

Five individuals ran for the three at-large positions including incumbents Douglas Rowe and Jennifer Wrage, alongside newcomers Megan Witt, Amanda Babinat, and Kyle Rasmussen.

According to unofficial results across the four counties (Tama, Grundy, Black Hawk, Marshall), Wrage, Rowe, and Babinat received the most votes.

The vacancy appears to be a close race. Linda Lowry garnered the most write-in votes in Tama County with 93, followed by Deb Osborn with 13. In Grundy County, Adam Bentley had the most write-in votes with 92, followed by Megan Witt with 55. In Marshall County, only one (1) write-in vote was cast for the vacancy; 12 write-in votes were cast in Black Hawk County.

As of press time, the newspaper was awaiting a response from both the Tama and Grundy county auditors regarding the results of the vacancy race including Lowry’s write-in share in Grundy County (the offices were closed on Tuesday due to the Veterans Day holiday). In Tama County, Bentley received 13 write-in votes.

The Tama County first-tier election canvass was set to take place this past Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 9 a.m. at the Tama County Administration Building in Toledo. The second-tier canvass will take place next week.

G-R BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTOR AT-LARGE (VOTE FOR 3)

Doug Rowe 920

Kyle Rasmussen 704

Megan Witt 680

Amanda Babinat 797

Jennifer Wrage 997

Write-in 388

GMG school board

The GMG Community School District had four seats up for election including District 1, District 2, and two At-Large directors.

Incumbent Kristine Kienzle filed for one of the at-large seats, while newcomer Blake Douglas Warren of rural Garwin filed for the other. Kienzle won her race with 134 votes and Blake Douglas Warren won his race with 129 votes.

No candidate filed for District 1; 38 total write-in votes were cast in Tama County with Lacey Boege receiving the most with 15 votes, followed by Kaleb Applegate with six (6). In Marshall County, Boege received four votes to Applegate’s 11. Per unofficial results, the winner appears to be Boege with 19 write-in votes to Applegate’s 17.

Two newcomers filed for the District 2 race including Kyle Dean Warren of rural Garwin and Brad Cox of Garwin. Kyle Dean Warren won the race with 82 votes to Cox’s 74.

GMG BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTOR AT-LARGE (VOTE FOR 2)

Kristine Kienzle 134

Blake Douglas Warren 129

Write-in 20

DIRECTOR DISTRICT 1 (VOTE FOR 1)

Write-in 58

DIRECTOR DISTRICT 2 (VOTE FOR 1)

Brad Cox 74

Kyle Dean Warren 82

Write-in 7