Treasurer Announces Resignation

DECORAH - Winneshiek County Treasurer Brenda Kreitzer is stepping down from her position.

Kreitzer informed the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors Monday morning that she was intending to retire from the job after over three decades in the Treasurer’s office.

Her retirement will be effective Jan. 3, 2025.

“It’s crazy how fast that 32 years went,” said Kreitzer.

The Treasurer also pointed to a depth of experience in the office with other staff.

“There’s a lot of longevity there, and there’s more than one person that can take that job,” said Kreitzer.

Appointing a new person or a special election are both possible. The appointment, if selected, would go for roughly two years.

Currently, December and March both have special elections set up, should the board be interested in putting it on the ballot then, said Auditor Ben Steines.

Auditor Details Busy Election

The County Auditor also updated the board on the status of the non-citizen voting court case and a busy election overall.

First up, Steines pointed to a ruling Sunday that involved Winneshiek County among five auditors named statewide in a lawsuit filed late last week along with Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.

“Last evening, the judge issued a denial of the temporary restraining order,” said Steines.

The ACLU and a handful of the parties identified as potential non-citizens registered to vote had sued, seeking to have the guidance issued by Pate set aside.

The refusal to issue an injunction means voters who have self-identified as non-citizens within the last several years will need to give some form of identification before having their ballots counted.

Three individuals on the list of nine identified for Winneshiek County have voted already.

“Two of them have provided their information,” said Steines. 

The third individual, identified by court records as a plaintiff in the lawsuit is Orçun Selçuk, a professor at Luther College, who had his status confirmed indirectly by virtue of the lawsuit, making his confirmation a moot point.

“So, the three will all be counted,” said Steines.

Should any of the six remaining individuals on the list attempt to cast a ballot, identification would be needed.

This comes amid heavy voter interest and includes early voting and absentee ballots

In 2020, the county saw roughly 9,000 absentee ballots. Most years see 6,000 to 7,000.

“I don’t know if we’ll hit 9,000, but it’ll be close,” said Steines.

Early voting is also seeing substantial interest.

“We have over 500 Friday,” said Steines. “I imagine we’ll have that again today.”