DETROIT LAKES — After a seesaw battle over the course of the evening, Erica Jepson of Evergreen Township defeated Craig Hall of Height of Land Township, 52% to 48%, in the Becker County Board District 1 race on Tuesday.
Jepson received 1,556 votes to 1,445 for Hall, according to final results on the Becker County website.
Jepson will serve a four-year term on the County Board.
She is a strong supporter of law enforcement and in an earlier interview said that “I am known for my ability to stand up for what is right – I’m not a ‘yes man,’ I vote in the best interests of the county, not because someone is telling me how to vote. I don’t bend under pressure — we need that kind of person on the board.”
Jepson and her husband, Brett, own and operate a farm in Evergreen Township that Brett bought from his parents, Ernie and Shirley Jepson, in 1998. They have one daughter, Allison.
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They were dairy farmers, “until making the difficult decision in 2019 to sell our dairy cattle and venture into goat and beef farming which we continue today,” she said in an earlier story. “Being farmers instilled many values in our family, including hard work, passion, patience, integrity, respect for mother nature, and the importance of family, friends and neighbors.”
Jepson graduated from Bemidji State University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in social work, worked for Becker County Human Services from 2013 until December 2021, and currently works for the Minnesota Department of Human Services as a child welfare expert.
“During my time at Becker County Human Services, I was a member of the Labor Management Committee for two years, as well as a union steward for five years.”
The County Board has authority over a wide array of things — social services, corrections, child protection, library services, hospitals and nursing homes, public health services, planning and zoning, economic development, parks and recreation, water quality, roads, and solid waste management, to name a few.
“Many of these services are largely driven by state statute and require timely, decisive decision-makers at the county level to ensure compliance, as well as the ability to recommend intelligent changes when necessary,” she said, adding that it’s important to have a county board with diverse knowledge and experiences making those decisions for the county.
Hall, a lifelong resident of Becker County, has served on the Height of Land Township Board for the past 12 years, including three years as chairman.
He served in the Minnesota National Guard, and worked as engineering manager at TEAM Industries in Park Rapids for 10 years, before helping launch Manufacturing Solutions of Minnesota, which he described as a $30 million business with about 50 employees in several locations in Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. After 10 years with the company, he is now area sales manager at DMG Mori.
Hall, who is in his early 50s, and his wife, Christine, have two children — Jack, a senior at the University of North Dakota, and Jessie, a senior at Detroit Lakes High School.
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Hall serves on the Becker County Planning Commission and the board of adjustment, was president of the Height of Land Sportsman’s Club for 10 years, and is now treasurer of the Northwoods Snowmobile Club.
District 1 is represented by longtime Commissioner Larry Knutson of Toad Lake, who is not running for reelection this year. The district encompasses roughly the eastern half of Becker County.
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