Sauk Rapids City Council Welcomes New Members, Fills Vacancy, and Honors Outgoing Mayor Monday Night

(KNSI) — At its first meeting of the year on Monday night, the Sauk Rapids City Council swore in its newest elected members and filled a vacant council seat.

Mayor Jason Ellering was sworn in by City Administrator Ross Olson, as were re-elected council member Dottie Seamans and newly elected member Clinton Holmgren. After the ceremony, the board was tasked with declaring a vacancy for Ellering’s former council seat and then, by unanimous vote, appointed former Councilman Nick Sauer to fill out the remaining two-year term.

He ran for mayor against Ellering, and KNSI News caught up to a smiling Sauer after he took the oath of office. “It feels good. Obviously, there was disappointment with the loss and the fact that I was no longer going to be on the council. I’d been on for 12 years. I’m happy to be back, and I’d like to thank the council for appointing me.”

Sauer explained why he feels he was picked to serve again, “I think part of it is I do have the experience with some of the committees we’ve got. I think a lot of it is just that they know who I am. They know that I put time and effort into this and that, I try to look at things from all different sides. I’m pretty level-headed.”

The city also paid tribute to outgoing Mayor Kurt Hunstiger by presenting him with a plaque and his gavel for his 30 years of service to the city. He was honored for his work on numerous infrastructure projects, including the Sauk Rapids Regional Bridge, the water treatment plant, a new government center and public works building, and several new parks.

He became a member of the planning commission in 1994 and from there, spent years on the Housing and Redevelopment Authority before joining the council. Hunstiger spent the last eight years as mayor.

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