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City council recall, International Falls, Minnesota (2025)
| International Falls city council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Walt Buller Tim Wegner Pete Kalar |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Minnesota Minnesota recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall City Councilors Mike Holden, Walt Buller, Tim Wegner, and Pete Kalar did not go to a vote in International Falls, Minnesota, after the city declared the recall petitions to be insufficient.[1][2]
Recall supporters
Reasons given for the recall effort include concerns about a lack of transparency, increased spending, and council policies.[1]
Ed Bates is one of the organizers of the recall effort.[1]
Recall opponents
Regarding the recall effort, Kalar said, "In the charter is the opportunity for recall petition if you’re not happy with how your councilor or councilors are doing their job." Wegner said, "That’s democracy," and "At this point it is what it is."[1]
Holden and Buller declined to offer a comment regarding the recall effort to the Rainy Lake Gazette.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Minnesota
Minnesota allows the following grounds for recall: serious malfeasance or nonfeasance during the term of office in the performance of the duties of the office or conviction during the term of office of a serious crime. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must file signatures equal to 25% of the total votes cast for the position at the last election.[3] Recall supporters have 90 days to circulate petitions.[4]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- International Falls, Minnesota
- Recall campaigns in Minnesota
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Rainy Lake Gazette, "Petitions to recall four Falls councilors launched," March 26, 2025
- ↑ The Minnesota Star Tribune, "International Falls hears taxpayers’ concerns but rejects recall petitions," April 23, 2025
- ↑ Minnesota Constitution, "Article VIII," accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ 2022 Minnesota Statutes, "211C.06 ISSUING, CIRCULATING, AND VERIFYING PETITION." accessed October 16, 2023
