Ballots have been cast in the 2022 midterm election, but it could be up to two weeks before final results are announced. While all of the Custer County races other than District 7 County Commissioner were decided in the primary in May, there were several local races of interest.

One of those is for Callaway Board of Education where four candidates were vying for the three seats on the board. Incumbents TR Anderson and Liana Hrupek were seeking re-election, and those seats were challenged by Vincent Guthrie and write-in candidate Kay Fahnholz. Unofficial results as of press time show Anderson, Hrupek and Guthrie as the top three vote getters in that order: 425, 314 and 311. Fahnholz has received 214 votes as of press time.

Three ballot measures affecting Callaway residents were also voted on Tuesday. In 2014, the voters of Callaway elected to institute a 1% local sales tax on top of the state sales tax, with those funds being used for local economic development projects. A measure to continue that tax within the Village has received preliminary approval.

The second portion of the LB840 issue on the ballot was to either accept or decline the plan for the Village to use those collected tax funds for economic development within the Village. That measure has also passed as of press time.

The third special issue on the Callaway ballot was for a bond not to exceed $4 million for a new swimming pool in the Village. A special pool committee was formed and town hall meetings were held to provide information to the public and provide a forum for expressing concerns and questions about the proposed bond. The quest to inform the public seemed to be successful, as the bond issue has received preliminary approval by a vote of 153-106.

Other races of interest include the Nebraska State Board of Education, where Robin Stevens of Gothenburg was attempting to retain his seat as the District 7 representative. Stevens was challenged by Elizabeth Tegtmeier, who mounted a serious campaign in recent months. District 7 encompasses more than half of the state, and includes all counties west of Wheeler, Greeley, Howard, Buffalo and Adams counties. Therefore, all residents of the 44 counties in the district cast their votes in the race, with Tegtmeier unofficially leading by a fairly large percentage. In Custer County unofficial results show Tegtmeier with 2,691 to Stevens’ 972.

The Gothenburg community also has a resident and businessman seeking a seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents as the District 7 Representative. Sen. Matt Williams, whose term in the legislature expires at the end of this year, was being challenged on the ticket by Kathy Wilmot. The race remained fairly close throughout the evening, with the unofficial results showing Wilmot maintaining a slight lead statewide. However, Williams garnered about 600 more votes as Wilmot in Custer County: 2,211 to 1,639

Two initiatives affecting all Nebraskans also appeared on the ballot; Initiative 432 would require everyone to show a photo ID to vote, and Initiative 433 would raise the state’s minimum wage over the next four years. Unofficial results currently have Initiative 432 passing by a wide margin in Custer County, while Initiative 433 was voted down by Custer County constituents.

For the Oconto Village Board three names appear on the ballot: Blake Fedderson, Jared Eggleston and Tim Pflaster. With three seats needing to be filled all three will become board members.

Custer County Election Commissioner Constance Gracey reminds the public that these are preliminary results as of election night. Tabulation will be finalized within the next week or two. We will continue to update results online and in our publications as they become available.