(FARMINGTON, MN) May 2, 2024 – Dakota Electric Association held their 86th annual meeting and board of directors election on April 25th at the Rosemount Community Center. Those members and guests in attendance heard updates from Dakota Electric Board Chair Paul Bakken, Dakota Electric Board Treasurer Jerry Pittman and Dakota Electric President and CEO Ryan Hentges.   

Key topics discussed included electricity generation, transmission, distribution, reliability, and affordability. Other topics discussed included the cooperative’s member appreciation night at the Minnesota Zoo on July 18 and the board of directors election results. Those results are shown below with winners named in bold font. 

District One:
Gerald (Jerry) Pittman, Lakeville, Incumbent (3,591 votes or 53.6%)
Jeff Nelson, Lakeville (3,103 votes or 46.4%)

District Two:
Clay Van De Bogart, Lakeville, Incumbent (5,889 votes or 100%)

District Three, Seat One:
Kenneth (Ken) Danner, Apple Valley, Incumbent (3,975 votes or 59.9%)
Donald (Don) Vasatka, Eagan (2,663 votes or 40.1%)

District Three, Seat Two:
Cyndee Fields, Eagan, Incumbent (2,614 votes or 39.1%)
Richard Billion, Apple Valley (2,005 votes or 30%)
John Hanken, Apple Valley (1,060 votes or 15.9%)
Robert (Bob) Heidenreich, Apple Valley (1,004 votes or 15%)

District Four:
Jenny Hoeft, Hastings, Incumbent (3,372 votes or 50.3%)
Elizabeth (Liz) Lucente, Eagan (1,761 votes or 26.3%)
Ian Benson, Rosemount  (1,573 votes or 23.5%) 

In addition to the above election results, members voted to pass an amendment to the governing bylaws. That language can be found on the Dakota Electric website. 

The bylaw amendment passed by a vote of 5,691 “Yes” votes or 87.6% to 803 “No” votes or 12.4%. 

Annual Meeting reports are available online for members who were unable to attend. They can be found at https://www.dakotaelectric.com/about-us/annual-meeting-election. For election-related questions, please get in touch with Melissa Cherney at [email protected] or 651-463-6252. 

About Dakota Electric Association:  

Dakota Electric Association is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative serving over 115,000 members in and around Dakota County. Established in 1937, Dakota Electric is committed to providing reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity to its members while actively engaging with the community and promoting energy efficiency. For more information, visit www.dakotaelectric.com.  

-end-