Untangling the Winneshiek County Hospital Trustee election

Winneshiek County voters cast ballots for the WMC Board of Trustees Tuesday.  Incumbent Steve Hildebrand received 6,781 votes, while fellow incumbent Karl Jacobsen received 6,395 votes.

However, the Tuesday ballot asked voters to vote for three people--even though there were only two openings on the hospital board.  That message was based on the fact that hospital board member Judy Robinson submitted her resignation because she was leaving Decorah for three years.

However, hospital officials have now determined that a replacement for Robinson will be appointed by the WMC Board, not elected by voters.  The WMC Board meets at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, with one of the items on their agenda being, "appoint Nominating Committee for Officers of Board of Trustees to serve to December 2020."