New Faces in Place for Charles City, New Hampton City Councils to Start 2026

 Upcoming Charles City and New Hampton city council meetings will have several new faces entering 2026 than they did a year ago at this time.

For the Charles City council meeting Monday (01.05) at 6 pm at the Charles City Public Library, Krista Noah and Jeff Otto begin first official terms as council members, replacing Keith Starr and DeLaine Freeseman. Other changes from last January include a new City Administrator Tyler Trout, who was took over for former City Administrator Steve Diers December 1st and City Clerk Brittney Lentz, who was hired after former City Clerk Trudy O’Donnell retired in April.

For the New Hampton City Council, three council seats have changed hands since January 2025.

Ward 2 Councilman Jeremy McGrath was sworn in last week, taking the seat previously held by Kalista Porath, who did not seek reelection. When no candidates officially ran for the post in November, McGrath won after he received two write-in votes over eight others who each received one write-in vote.

Also sworn in last week for her first full-term on the Council is At-Large Councilwoman Kerstin Schwickerath, who was appointed last February to fill the vacancy created with the resignation of Katie Fisher. 

The Ward 4 Council seat is expected to be filled by Jim Kiffel, with Mayor Steve Geerts scheduled to appoint Kiffel during their 7 pm meeting Monday night at City Hall . If approved by the Council, Kiffel will fill the seat that opened when Mindy Humpal did not run for re-election.

No candidate officially filed to run for that seat either, with a write-in election resulting in Humpal’s name on eight ballots, but she turned down the post. Luke Steele was second with two ballots, but he also declined the seat.

Even with the anticipated appointment of Kiffel, electors of the City of New Hampton can file a petition requiring that the vacancy be filled by a special election. That petition must be filed within 14 days of the appointment.