STURGIS, S.D. – Voters in Sturgis gave a resounding ‘no’ to a contract the city of Sturgis had planned to sign with A.M.A. Racing to hold a special flat track race the last day at this year’s rally.
In unofficial results released from Tuesday’s election, 1,032 voters rejected the council’s vote to have the council president sign the contract. Just 437 voted to approve it.
Sturgis also will no longer have a city manager. Voters rejected the form of government on an 844 to 622 vote. Whether or not the Mayor of Sturgis will bring in a city administrator is yet to be seen. A city administrator is different from a city manager.
There were also races in three of four city wards in Sturgis Tuesday.
Nick Jones wins the Ward 1 seat, defeating Jamie Helms 107 to 83. Angela Wilkerson’s name was also on the Ward 1 ballot, although she was promoted to mayor by the council earlier.
Winning the Ward 2 race was Ruth Kopp over Richard Zerbst. Kopp garnered 278 votes while Zerbst picked up 63.
And Jim Thompson won the Ward 3 race, defeating Richelle Bruch 241 to 206.
The canvassing of the votes from the April 9, 2024 election will be done at the April 15 Sturgis City Council meeting. Results become final after that time.
