Former commissioner asks Beltrami County to publish expanded redistricting notice in county newsletter

Former commissioner Jim Lukachek asked the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners to allow a longer unsolicited article in the county newsletter outlining a recent redistricting lawsuit that, he said, had resulted in a judge reversing the board’s earlier 3-2 redistricting plan.

Lukachek, identifying himself as a former commissioner and a plaintiff in the litigation, said residents have “very, very, very little information” about the redistricting matter and requested the board permit an article longer than the committee’s 500-word limit so constituents can understand the judge’s ruling and its implications.

“It’s a very serious matter,” Lukachek said. He told the board that he and a co-plaintiff spent about $50,000 pursuing the lawsuit and that they were not reimbursed for litigation or transcription costs; he said they had requested $4,000 in transcription charges but did not receive reimbursement. He offered that the article could instead come from Laura Hansen, identified in his remarks as the chair of the redistricting committee, if the board preferred a more neutral source.

Commissioner Krause asked the board to add a discussion of Lukachek’s request to a future meeting. Administrator Barry explained the county’s agenda policy: noncontroversial items may be placed on the agenda by the administrator, but items that appear controversial or originate from outside entities generally are taken to the board’s work session for consideration and require a quorum to agree to advance the item to a subsequent meeting agenda.

Board members agreed to include the item in an upcoming work session to determine whether there was sufficient consensus to bring it to a board meeting; commissioners discussed returning the matter to a board agenda in mid-February if warranted. No formal board action to publish an article or to change newsletter policy was taken at this meeting.

Lukachek requested that the county itself publish the factual account so constituents receive the information, noting local newspapers were not covering it countywide. The board did not decide on changes to the newsletter committee’s word limit; instead members asked staff to place the request on the work session agenda and report back with options and applicable policy steps.