Most local candidates have either filed their candidacy or non-candidacy papers for the April 7 Spring election. Candidates had until Tuesday at 5 p.m. to file papers, too late for publication deadline.
As of Monday morning, City of Owen incumbents Jason Thornton, Bob Wilczek, and Ray Kilty had all taken out papers for re-election, but none had been turned in.
In the Village of Withee, incumbents Susan Kalepp, Bill Kroeplin, and Randy Shelton have all filed papers for re-election. As of Monday morning, they had no challengers.
For Owen-Withee School Board, Dean Schmelzer has filed papers and Joan Jalling has filed non-candidacy papers. As of Monday morning, there was no one else with papers out.
At the county level, all Supervisors are up for election on April 7, 2026. Four supervisors have filed notice of non-candidacy. They are Raymond Mulderink, District 2; Luke Smith, District 14 (non-candidacy not received by deadline, so candidates will have until January 9 to declare for this seat); Chuck Rueth, District 17; and William Neville, District 28. As of publication deadline, Scott Pralle has taken out papers for District 28, but has not turned them in. The other three districts have no declared candidates. In addition, supervisors Kathy Brodhagen, District 1; Ashley Thielman, District 9; Scott Johnson, District 16; and Duane Boone, District 23 have not taken out papers nor filed non-candidacy papers. There are currently no declared candidates in these districts. Other candidates who have taken out papers, but not turned them in are: Carl Kallberg who would challenge Tom Wilcox in District 4; Jeff Kolzow, District 10; Leonard Stoecker, District 18; and Sharon Rogers, who would challenge Tom Bobrofsky in District 19. In District 27, Saville Inman will challenge incumbent Fritz Garbisch. In all other districts, only the incumbent has declared their candidacy, including Larry Klabon in District 5, representing the village of Withee, and Scott Jalling in District 11, representing the city of Owen.