Floyd County Supervisor Kuhn won’t seek another term

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

There will be two new county supervisors elected in Floyd County in November, as another member of the current board has announced he won’t seek re-election.

Supervisor Mark Kuhn told the Press this week that he has decided against running for another term representing District 1 on the board.

“I hope a new generation of leaders considers stepping forward to assume the awesome responsibility of leading Floyd County forward in the future,” Kuhn said.

Supervisor Jim Jorgensen, representing District 3, had previously announced he would not run to retain his seat.

The third supervisor, Dennis Keifer, representing District 2, was elected to a four-year term and will be in office until at least the end of 2026

Even though three new supervisors were elected in 2022, one of them, Kuhn, had a long history of elected office, with previous terms as a Floyd County supervisor from 1993 to 1998 and from 2011 to 2018, and as a state representative for the Floyd County area in the Iowa Legislature from 1999 to 2010.

“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve the citizens of Floyd County for 28 years as their state representative and county supervisor,” Kuhn said. “I’ve especially enjoyed working with Supervisors Keifer and Jorgensen who elected me twice to chair the current board.

“Working together with other county officials and citizens, I believe the board has established a more open, transparent, accountable and fiscally responsible county government,” he said.

“The list of important county issues remaining to be addressed yet this year is long and challenging,” Kuhn said. “Please be assured I look forward to devoting my complete attention to work with anyone to find consensus and advance the issues important to the citizens of Floyd County.”

The current Board of Supervisors is the first elected in Floyd County since voters approved splitting the county into three districts, with the representative of each district required to live in that district, and only the residents of each district allowed to vote on their supervisor.

Supervisors serve four-year terms, but in order for future elections to not regularly have the possibility of replacing all three supervisors at one time, one district was selected randomly before the 2022 election to serve only a two-year term in that first election with county districts. District 1 – Kuhn’s district – was the one chosen for a two-year term.

Also at that election, the candidate who won in District 3 declined the position, so a board of elected county officials had the job of appointing a supervisor, choosing Jorgensen.

Jorgensen’s appointment lasts only until the next countywide election. He could run for a full four-year term after his appointment ends, but chose not to.

District 1 includes the southern Floyd County townships of Scott, Ulster, Union, Pleasant Grove and Riverton, the part of St. Charles township south of Charles City, as well as the part of Charles City south of the Cedar River.

District 2 includes the parts of Charles City north of the river and the northern part of St. Charles township.

District 3 includes the northern Floyd County townships of Rockford, Rock Grove, Rudd, Floyd, Cedar and Niles.