Citizens' Concerns: A Growing Divide

The outgoing mayors of St. Cloud area cities recently shared their thoughts on the increasing partisanship in politics. According to Rick Schultz, mayor of St. Joseph, he first noticed the trend during the 2016 election and again during the 2020 election. "My wife and I talked about what it would look like after 2024, and I said I don't want to go through it again," he said. The mayors of Sauk Rapids, Waite Park, and St. Cloud discussed the impact of partisan politics on their communities.Kurt Hunstiger, mayor of Sauk Rapids, expressed his frustration with the political landscape. "I'm just frustrated with how political everything has been. It's not upset, nothing I can do about it. It's just the national scene, and it has carried over to the state. " Despite this, his city council, with two members leaning left, two members leaning right, and one in the middle, has been able to work together without arguing or embarrassing anyone. St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis emphasized that there is no place for partisan politics at the local level. "You don't want that at the local level. I see that creeping in, and I think that's just wrong. You want people to be able to work together and build a consensus. " As a former Republican state senator turned independent mayor, Kleis has experienced the negative effects of partisan politics firsthand.