Jamestown voters reelect three incumbents to parks commission
Jamestown kept the same three names on its parks board, reelecting Mike Soulis, Mike Landscoot and Mindi Schmitz before a July 13 transition.
Jamestown voters kept the city’s parks commission in familiar hands, reelecting incumbents Mike Soulis, Mike Landscoot and Mindi Schmitz to another four-year term. Unofficial totals showed Soulis leading with 1,595 votes, followed by Landscoot with 1,549 and Schmitz with 1,485.
The June 9 primary left challenger Kyle McLean short in a four-candidate race for three seats. The result means the next parks board will enter its July 13 meeting with the same three commissioners returning, a handoff that matters in a city where parks, recreation programs and facility planning shape daily life from summer youth activities to field scheduling and playground upkeep.
The contest drew attention ahead of the vote through a candidate Q&A and a forum hosted by the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce at the North Dakota Farmers Union building in Jamestown. The race centered on public oversight rather than campaign drama, and commissioners are paid $150 a month, with the chair receiving $200. Soulis did not attend the forum.
The district’s website shows Mindi Schmitz as chairperson and Mike Landscoot as vice chairman, with Schmitz, Landscoot and Soulis listed with term expirations in 2026. Ryan Harty and Mark Ukestad are listed with terms that run through 2028, underscoring the staggered structure that leaves only part of the commission on the ballot in a given year. The board meets on the second Monday of each month at 5 p.m. in the Two River Activity Center multi-purpose room, where public comments are limited to three minutes or less under district policy.
The vote also landed at a time when parks policy is already under pressure from long-range planning and property decisions. Jamestown Parks and Recreation adopted its Comprehensive Parks Plan for 2024-2034 on Aug. 12, 2024, after a 2023 request for proposals sought a master plan to guide parks and facilities improvements over the next five to 10 years. That planning framework followed a Feb. 9 public meeting on the potential sale of park-related properties, including Little Meidinger Park and Feton Park.
The comprehensive plan points to aging facilities and major capital needs, including work on warming houses, restrooms and the park district office. By returning Soulis, Landscoot and Schmitz to the board, voters chose continuity as Jamestown moves into those decisions, keeping institutional memory in place for the next round of maintenance, programming and land-use debates.
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