Decorah City Council elections are taking shape

Candidates have until August 31st to file nomination papers for spots on the Decorah City Council.

There will be four city council seats up for election on November 7th--the 1st, 3rd and 5th wards in the city and one of two at-large seats, as well as the mayor's position.

Decorah Mayor Don Arendt will not be seeking re-election this fall.  Decorah City Council at-large member Gary Rustad has announced he will run for mayor, meaning he will not seek re-election to the city council.  Rusatd will be opposed by former Decorah Library Director Lorraine Borowski.

Decorah business owner Ross Hadley has announced he will run for the at-large seat on the city council.

Decorah resident and North Winneshiek teacher Andy Carlson, who has represented the 3rd ward since April of 2015, has announced he will seek re-election in November.

Carlson tells decorahnews.com he has enjoyed working on the issues facing city government and the Decorah community.  "I'm pretty happy with the way things have gone (on the city council)," he says.  Carlson says he wants to continue to work on the issue of affordable housing in Decorah and on the city's role in helping the Decorah School District to find a site for a new elementary school.

Incumbent city council members Randy Schissel (who represents the 1st ward) and Chuck Lore (who represents the 5th ward) have not yet announced whether they will seek re-election.