Getting to know the candidates running for Soil and Water Conservaton Disrict Board

Mark R. Jensen (incumbent)

There are three candidates running for the position of Soil and Water Conservation District Board in Winneshiek County. On November 6th, you will be asked to vote for two of the three candidates.

Mark R. Jensen is the incumbant and he gave decorahnews.com this statement, "I grew up in Howard County and now have lived in Winneshiek County for nearly 10 years.  I have worked in agriculture through various roles including time at the Farm Service Agency, a location manager at Winneshiek Coop, and now as an agricultural lender at CUSB Bank in Ridgeway. I have served on the Winneshiek County Soil and Water District for the past four years after being solicited by local community members.  I am seeking re-election because I feel strongly about the work that is currently being done, and which still needs to be done, in Winneshiek County.  Our county currently has numerous watershed projects running and we are one of the most utilized offices in the state.  It is important that we continue to educate our fellow community members on the benefits of the variety of conservation practices that are available to them.  We need to develop methods and practices that are practical in implementation and allow individuals to manage their land and operations while seeing the true benefits brought from different conservation practices.  The number of projects that we have underway and the high participation rate has taken years to cultivate and it is important that the fruits of that labor are supported and built upon."

Dennis Blumhagen is a farmer in Castalia. Blumhagen graduated from South Winn, Iowa State, served 6 years in the National Guard, and taught Voc Ag at South Winn for 12 years. He has been married to his wife Donna for 51 years. Together they raised 4 children and farm their 4th generation century farm.

Blumhagen said he was approached by an individual about running for the Soil and Water District Board. "I've been on several other boards and am very interested in conservation. I've done a lot of work on conservation on our farm. We've planted 49,000 trees along the Yellow River. I think it would be good to have a board member from this county."

Ross Evelsizer is a Decorah resident also running for the Soil and Water District Board. Evelsizer grew up in Decorah before attending college at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota, where he met his wife, Laura. They have 4 children together and moved back to Decorah in 2013. Evelsizer enjoys spending time with family in the outdoors hunting and fishing.

Evelsizer currently works at NE Iowa Resource Conservation & Development, Inc. where his title is Watershed Planner and GIS Specialist.

When decorahnews.com asked Ross Evelsizer why he is running for the Soil and Water District Board, he said, "I am running for SWCD Commissioner because I believe it is important to protect our natural resources for future generations. Winneshiek SWCD has an extensive history of working with private landowners to implement conservation practices that protect the lands and waters that make Northeast Iowa special and I would like to be a part of those efforts."

Dennis Blumhagen

The Evelsizer family: Connor, Laura, family dog Fiona, Declan, Ella, Ross, and Bennett