Top Local Political Stories of 2024

Today we look at the top political stories of 2024. Here locally, the biggest story was that of the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors District 3 race as for the second straight election, the winner was determined by single-digit votes. In 2022, Lori Meacham Ginapp won a two-year term beating Don O’Connor by five votes. This year, Meacham Ginapp was defeated by Republican Carl Ginapp by three votes in a race where over 6200 ballots were cast. Carl Ginapp thanked the voters after a recount expanded his lead from two to three votes. 

 

Chris Watts won re-election in the other supervisors race, beating challenger Timothy Lapointe with over 57% of the vote. Watts says he appreciates the support and trust of the voters in winning a full, four-year term. 

 

 And there will be a new sheriff in town, as Cerro Gordo County Chief Deputy David Hepperly beat Brian Koob by 2000 votes 

 

Hepperly will take over for Kevin Pals, who is retiring from the position. 

In local legislative races, a Republican won a Mason City-based Iowa House district for the first time since 2008 as Christian Hermanson beat Democrat Jeremy True for the House District 59 seat. Hermanson thanked the voters of the district for believing in him. 

 

The last time a Mason City-based House seat was held by a Republican was when current Mason City mayor Bill Schickel held the seat from 2003 to 2009. Democrat Sharon Steckman decided in February that she would not seek another term to represent the district.

Republican Doug Campbell beat Democrat Rich Lorence for the Iowa Senate District 30 seat that covers Mason City, Clear Lake, as well as Worth and Mitchell counties. That was after July’s surprise announcement that Republican incumbent Waylon Brown was resigning from his seat after beating Campbell in the primary.