City councilor-elect Lydia Goken – the newest member of the Dysart City Council — was elected as part of the Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, city-school election. Goken won election in a six-way race for three At-Large seats; incumbents Jenn Alpers and Steven Stoner were also elected.

The Dysart City Council, Union school board, and North Tama school board will all be swearing in some new faces following the Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 city-school election.

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

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 the following week. The following are unofficial results.

Dysart City Council

The Dysart City Council had three at-large seats to fill this election cycle. Two of the three incumbents chose to run, including Jenn Alpers and Steven Stoner, as well as challengers Lydia Goken, Richard A. Griffin, Ken Midyett, and Brian Sparks. Alpers, Stoner, and Goken were all elected.

Goken, a young mother and registered nurse, told the newspaper in her candidate Q&A she wanted to see the community “grow and thrive” while “holding on to the small-town values that make Dysart such a special place to live.” She cited access to childcare, affordable housing investment, and attracting young families as some of her key issues.

DYSART CITY COUNCIL AT-LARGE (VOTE FOR 3)

Jenn Alpers 313

Lydia Goken 244

Ken Midyett 63

Richard A. Griffin 205

Steven Stoner 225

Brian Sparks 202

Write-in 14

Union school board

The Union school board had four seats on the ballot this election. Two of the four incumbents chose to run again, including Lindsay Pipho and Cady Schmidt, both of Dysart, who each filed for their respective At-Large Director and At-Large Director To Fill A Vacancy.

Pipho won reelection with 922 votes. Schmidt won with 796 votes.

Reid Carlson of La Porte City did not file for his District 1 seat and Maureen Hanson of La Porte City did not file for her District 2 seat. Both seats will be filled by write-in vote. In Tama County, Carlson received the majority of the write-in votes for District 1 with 123 out of a total of 365 cast across the school district’s four counties (Tama, Black Hawk, Benton, Buchanan); Amanda Sheffler received six (6).

Amanda Sheffler received the majority of write-in votes in Tama County for the District 2 seat with 130 out of 372 votes cast across the four counties; Carlson received three (3).

The next regular meeting of the Union school board is set for Monday, Nov. 24, beginning at 6 p.m. at the middle school in Dysart.

UNION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTOR AT-LARGE (VOTE FOR 1)

Lindsay B. Pipho 922

Write-in 21

DIRECTOR AT-LARGE TO FILL VACANCY (VOTE FOR 1)

Cady Schmidt 796

Write-in 22

DIRECTOR DISTRICT 1 (VOTE FOR 1)

Write-in 365

DIRECTOR DISTRICT 2 (VOTE FOR 1)

Write-in 372

Traer Mayor

In the Traer mayor’s race, incumbent Mayor Pete Holden faced a challenge from candidate Kennan Seda. Holden was re-elected with 158 votes to Seda’s 54.

TRAER MAYOR (VOTE FOR 1)

Kennan Seda 54

Pete Holden 158

Write-in 4

Traer City Council

The Traer City Council had two at-large seats up for election this cycle. Incumbents James Erhardt and Aaron Mennenga were the only candidates to file.

TRAER CITY COUNCIL AT-LARGE (VOTE FOR 2)

Aaron Mennenga 138

James Erhardt 182

Write-in 7

North Tama school board

Four of the seven North Tama School Board seats were up for re-election this year. Incumbents Rod Zobel of District 1 and Cheryl Popelka of District 3 both chose not to run.

Seth Seda (224 votes) defeated Jordan Hagedon (130 votes) for the District 1 seat.

LeRoy Staker was the only candidate to file for the District 3 seat and won with 306 votes.

Incumbent David Calderwood of Traer was the only candidate to file for District 2 and won with 330 votes.

Incumbent Martin (Marty) Dostal in District 4 faced a challenge from Denny Berger and Jayme Roudabush. Dostal won with 194 votes to Berger’s 83 and Roudabush’s 79.

NORTH TAMA DIRECTOR DISTRICT 1 (VOTE FOR 1)

Seth Seda 224

Jordan Hagedon 130

Write-in 1

NORTH TAMA DIRECTOR DISTRICT 2 (VOTE FOR 1)

David Calderwood 330

Write-in 8

NORTH TAMA DIRECTOR DISTRICT 3 (VOTE FOR 1)

LeRoy D. Staker 306

Write-in 9

NORTH TAMA DIRECTOR DISTRICT 4 (VOTE FOR 1)

Jayme Roudabush 79

Marty Dostal 194

Denny Berger 83

Write-in 1

Clutier Mayor and City Council

In the Clutier Mayor’s race, incumbent Linda Pearson was the only candidate who filed. Mayor Pearson won re-election with 29 votes.

All five At-Large seats on the Clutier City Council were up for reelection. Dianna Cowen, Shelley Kriz, Gregg Riese, Donald Hutchings, and Duane Parizek Jr. won seats on the council.

CLUTIER MAYOR (VOTE FOR 1)

Linda Pearson 29

Write-in 1

CLUTIER CITY COUNCIL AT-LARGE (VOTE FOR 5)

Dianna Cowen 27

Shelley Kriz 29

Gregg Riese 28

Donald Hutchings 28

Duane Parizek Jr. 31

Write-in 2