District #5 – Kenneth (Butch) Warning vs. Tina King
Kenneth Warning is a lifelong resident of Le Sueur County.
Tina King moved into the county in 2020.
Kenneth Warning is for limiting government regulatory intrusion on private property. Tina King is on the county planning and zoning board and stated “serving on the commission has provided me a greater insight into land use decisions and how government decisions shape the lives and character of our county.” – From her campaign website. (Emphasis added.)
We are very concerned about county government’s social engineering framework being put in place through Land Use Plans, and Planning & Zoning ordinances, for the purpose of re-shaping the lives of citizens and the character of their communities, according to the views of outside “experts” that claim to have superior knowledge of the way communities “should” look, “should” function, “should” be financed, and what their character “should” be. Local citizens are capable of solving their needs with self directed solutions and enterprise. Outside “experts” should construct their utopia elsewhere.
Kenneth Warning believes in limited government involvement at the local level. Tina King has stated that she will join forces with the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC), an NGO that lobbies state legislators. – Southern Minnesota News, August 6, 2026
The Association of Minnesota Counties is the same NGO that commissioner Preisler lobbies the legislature in behalf of. While state and county governments need to work together, and county government needs a strong voice to stand up to state mandates, we have strong concerns here. County commissioners can lobby legislators to have amendments written into State Statutes and Rules, giving them special authority for actions that may otherwise be illegal.
Additionally, found on the National Association of Counties (NACo) website: ce.naco.org PDF
“Economic Development: Counties may fund an incorporated development society or organization to promote, advertise, improve or develop economic and agricultural resources.”
Cities in Le Sueur County have been persuaded to establish an Economic Development Authority (EDA). The EDAs along with each city’s Chamber of Commerce, are eligible to receive county funds. If this takes place, our taxes are being used for social engineering.
Concern with the county being heavily reliant on programs approved by AMC and NACO, is about lessening the sovereign, independent, authority of the county, its cities, and townships, when signing onto government programs. These arrangements demand consent to stipulations and funding that must be met, rendering the county subservient to state and federal controls. When you give your decision making power to another entity, you are the useful rubber-stamp-puppet. This also increases expenditures passed on to the taxpayers.
Most government programs are connected to grant funding and have a prerequisite requirement that the entity have a comprehensive plan in place. These comprehensive plans require an expensive “study” before being approved. Each additional program for which a grant is applied for, may also require an expensive study. All of the money spent on studies for subsequent projects adds up with nothing concrete having been accomplished.
A relevant example of this is from a statement by Tina King at the July 8, 2024, Elysian City Council Meeting, where she expressed disappointment that the city was not putting more dollars and effort into the FEMA sponsored Upper Cannon River Watershed Flood Risk Reduction Study. As president of the Lake Francis Association, she cited that it was a great opportunity to have an assessment done for issues that affect Lake Francis: rising water levels contributing to shoreline erosion, diminished water quality, and no wake zones that impacted the community. She included a report however, where the DNR attributed theproblem to the City of Elysian’s storm water and watershed causing the lake to rise, in addition to natural springs.
The original focus of a flood study was for the City of Waterville, then later expanded to encompass all of the Cannon River Watershed, including Lake Francis. This study alone cost $400k; $300k came from a federal grant (taxes), with a county match of $100k (more taxes). The study is ongoing and when finally complete, it will not have accomplished anything more than identifying potential recommendations, yet the study is a strict requirement if any
additional grants are to be secured as a solution to the flooding of Waterville. Expressing a desire for this study to aid Lake Francis appears to be misdirected, as the DNR has pointed out it is the city of Elysian’s storm water and watershed runoff that are a huge factor in the rising Lake Francis water level. Water quality is then affected as phosphorus and nitrates add to the growth of algae and lake weeds.
At a January 30, 2025, Comprehensive Plan Open Forum, Tina King led the discussion at her table and stated clearly that her concern was focusing on the water quality of the lakes. Being she is President of the Lake Francis Association, owns a shoreline clean-up business, and has focused on expensive FEMA sponsored watershed studies as remedies for Lake Francis, it would benefit all of District #5 if the elected commissioner would not have such a focused interest in a singular cause.
In the September issue of Southern Minnesota News – Candidate Profiles; she asks: “How do we want to move forward and look at what do we want our county to look like?” She is speaking here like a member of Planning & Zoning with the authority to change the county, when a lot of people like it just the way it is; small, quiet, friendly and safe. We are electing a commissioner to represent us, not an engineer in charge of instituting change.
In the same article Tina King asks: “Can we join partners with other counties out there? Can we get contractors for certain things? Is that less expensive than employees just looking at everything? I think you really need to be a challenger and challenge people to think different ways of doing it.” This most certainly implies that Tina King plans on filling the role that will be vacated when Gump Rohlfing retires from his position on the Region Nine Board of Commission (RNDC), where people from the nine county area with ideologies for instituting social change are “appointed” to make decisions, replacing the local people that we entrusted when electing them. Those “appointed” are accountable to no one. There is no one to address your concerns to when you disagree with their decisions, and you can never “un-elect” them. Add to that the fact that RNDC is notorius for offerring programs that require expensive “studies” financed by grants most always paid by the taxpayers as discussed above, in order to obtain the change they want to take place in communities.
She mentions hiring contractors to work with multiple counties. This is referring to Public Private Partnerships which create monopolies that eliminate local contractors. Why not trust your employees to make sound decisions? What is their purpose if you give the thought process to another “hired” entity? If she is looking to be a “challenger” to make people think differently, perhaps she ought to be running for a different position. We already have a “King” on our board of commissioners. Let the above concerns be a “Warning.” – pun intended.
We recommend that you vote for Kenneth (Butch) Warning. He is willing to represent you and protect our county from undesired change executed by outsiders, at our expense.
This is an independent expenditure prepared and paid for by We Are The Taxpayer, PO Box #62, Le Center, MN 56057.
It is not coordinated with, or approved by any candidate, nor is any candidate responsible for it.
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