Menominee County elects new sheriff, Ingallston fails to seat new clerk

MENOMINEE, MICH. – City of Menominee Police Department Sergeant Darrin Kudwa defeated incumbent Sheriff Michael Holmes in the race for Menominee County Sheriff.

Kudwa received 7,848 votes to Holmes’ 4,934 votes, according to information on the county’s website.

“It’s kind of a surreal feeling, very humbling to have that many people go out and vote for you,” said Kudwa, a Menominee Township resident.
“I’m very excited to start this journey,” he said, “I’ve always wanted to have a chance at being sheriff.”

Kudwa said he has worked for the Menominee Police Department for 16 years. He wants the Menominee County Sheriff’s Office to keep improving. He’d like it to be a destination place for officers, he said.

“Two of my big things are training and equipment. Today’s training needs to meet the national standards for today’s law enforcement,” Kudwa said. “If you turn on the TV, law enforcement has been under the microscope nationally,” he added.

Kudwa wants to keep the Menominee County Sheriff’s Office well equipped for deputies doing the work, whether it’s in the jail or on the road, he said.

“There’s better cameras out there now that allow you to depict maybe an injury that you don’t see with a naked eye at times,” he said. Computer technology in the vehicles, drones and local resources are important to law enforcement, he said.

“There are different kinds of drones. Drones you can fly in inclement weather, drones you can fly in houses. There are a lot of good tools,” Kudwa said.

Volunteers also contribute to the sheriff’s office, he said. “There are a lot of volunteers in Menominee County I’m looking forward to working with,” Kudwa said. He wants to make sure they have the equipment they need for search and rescue or other law enforcement tasks.

He also plans to focus on narcotics enforcement. “I have a lot of training in narcotics. Menominee County has two major highways, M-35 and US 41, which run right through our county. I spent five years working undercover on a narcotics team run by the Michigan State Police called UPSET. Those are known drug corridors,” he said.

Kudwa plans to present some ideas on ways to work with other agencies to stop the narcotics flow. “It’s heavy at times. Green Bay is an hour away and there’s any kind of drug you want down there. It’s getting traffic right through there up Menominee County to the rest of the Upper Peninsula. So narcotics is definitely something I’ll be working on.”

The City of Menominee Police Department, which has about 17 officers, is still working with marijuana stores on US 41 to keep traffic flowing safely, Kudwa said. “In front of a few of the businesses can get backed up at times. They’ve tried to work with us,” he said. Drivers make split-second decisions to turn into a parking lot, and some turn against the oncoming traffic, resulting in more traffic accidents than in years past, he said. “The rest is still to be determined on what kind of impact it’s going to have. It’s still kind of new.”

Menominee County election results
In Menominee County, voters cast 8,645 votes for Donald Trump and 4,252 ballots for Kamala Harris.

In Menominee County, in the U.S. Senate race, Republican Mike Rogers defeated Democrat Elissa Slotkin 8,330 to 4,038 votes.

Jack Bergman was re-elected 1st District Representative with 8,369 votes compared with 3,903 for Democratic candidate Callie Barr.

In the state race for representative of the 108th District, incumbent Republican David Prestin was re-elected with 8,606 votes compared to 3,784 for Democrat Christiana Reynolds.

In Ingallston Township, where Clerk Kay Keefer and Treasurer Pat Cheski both sought to step down, no new candidates emerged in time to be elected, Keefer said.

As a result, Keefer said she will stay on as clerk and Cheski will stay as treasurer. Cheski wasn’t available for comment.

A note on the election results for the clerk position said, “Unresolved Write-In: 37.” It wasn’t clear who received the write-in votes, as this information wasn’t provided. “Write-in candidates must file paperwork with the clerk, none did,” Keefer said.

In the treasurer spot, Dennis DeTemple filed paperwork with Keefer in time to be on the ballot but resigned shortly thereafter due to a change in his health, Keefer said. The ballots contained his name as the only candidate for treasurer. Despite receiving 394 votes, he isn’t expected to serve. “It was too late to remove his name from the ballot,” Keefer said.

Other Ingallston Township trustees elected were Carl Jay Johnson, with 482 votes, and John Lampart, with 225 votes.

The township had 939 registered voters on election day, Keefer said. As clerk, she said she received 203 absentee ballots.

County Commissioners elected included: 1st District Rep. Steven T. Gromala, 666 votes, 2nd District Patricia Mueller, 747 votes, 3rd District Larry Phelps with 515 votes compared with Timothy Gustman, 333 votes; 4th District Donald Park, 1,193 votes, 5th District Zak Aubert, 1,173 votes, 6th District Connie Westrich, 1,248 votes; 7th District Jeff Carlson, 1,394 votes; 8th District Nick Hanchek, 755 votes; 9th District Larry Johnson, 1,140 votes.
In referendums results, Menominee County voters supported, by a vote of 5,798 to 4,872, the Menominee Intermediate School District’s request for a one million increase, which is expected to generate $867,000 annually for the next 10 years for career and technical education.

In Meyer Township, voters approved, by a vote of 292 to 265, a half-million increase for two years to generate $20,597 for invasive weed mitigation in Hermansville Lake.

Voters in Meyer, Harris, Gourley and Spaulding township collectively rejected, by a vote of 806 against and 741 for, a North Central Area Schools referendum for a Sinking Fund Millage. The proposal would have allowed the board of education to levy up to three mills to generate about $360,000 each year for the next four years, starting with tax year 2024, for a sinking fund to purchase real estate, build and repair school buildings, for school security improvements and to purchase technology, vans, trucks and student transportation vehicles.

Faithorn Township voters living in the Norway-Vulcan Area School district who saw a a referendum request for 2.7 to 3 mills to retire bond debt of $760,000 over 20 years collectively rejected it, by a vote of 93 against and 74 for.

Faithorn Township voters living in the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District collectively approved, by a vote of 94 for and 70 against, a 0.498 mill referendum to generate about $861,500 starting in 2026 for 10 years, as a millage is expiring in 2025.

For information on other Menominee County Township races, consult the county website under News & Announcements.