What does a YES vote on City of Twin Lakes Question 1 mean?

The City of Twin Lakes would be dissolved.

What does a NO vote on City of Twin Lakes Question 1 mean?

The City of Twin Lakes would not be dissolved.

When would the city actually go away?

Six months after the November 3, 2026 election, if a majority votes yes. The land would then become part of Nunda Township by operation of law.

What happens to my water and sewer?

That is not settled. State agencies say a successor government must take responsibility for the utilities; Nunda Township says it cannot run them. The court said it has no power to assign them elsewhere and urged the city and township to plan with state regulators. If service ended, properties would need wells and septic systems.

What about fire protection?

Nunda Township does not have its own fire service; it is served by the Emmons Fire Department. The court found that if the Twin Lakes Fire Department is disbanded, response times for fires in the city would be longer.

How many votes does City of Twin Lakes Question 1 need to pass?

A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.

Should I vote yes or no on City of Twin Lakes Question 1?

SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.

The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

City of Twin Lakes Question 1 — Dissolving the City of Twin Lakes (Freeborn County)

Last updated Sat, Nov 7, 10:10 AM ET

Ballot measure · November 3, 2026 · Twin Lakes voters

What it does: Shall the City of Twin Lakes be dissolved?
A YES vote means: The City of Twin Lakes would be dissolved.
A NO vote means: The City of Twin Lakes would not be dissolved.
Needed to pass: A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Left–right lean: Not a left–right issue: a procedural or local question that liberals and conservatives don't typically split on (AI read of the official ballot summary).

The YES and NO lines are SpectrumVote's plain-language reading of the official text above; the official text is what you vote on.

Official text: source

Explained

Today

Twin Lakes is a city of 134 people (2020 Census) in Freeborn County, entirely surrounded by Nunda Township. It has 74 registered voters, all of whom vote by mail.
The city runs its own water system (including a 50,000-gallon water tower built in 1960) and a wastewater system that serves every home and business, plus a 17-member fire department that serves only the city.
The city has two employees and no debt. Its 2026 budget projected $245,411 in revenue, most of it from state Local Government Aid, water and sewer fees, and grants; its property tax levy brings in about $12,000 a year.

If it passes

If a majority votes yes, the City of Twin Lakes ceases to exist six months after the election (early May 2027) and its land becomes part of Nunda Township, under the court's order and Minn. Stat. § 412.091.
During those six months the City Council would settle claims and apply city assets to any debts. All remaining city property and rights would pass to Nunda Township as legal successor.
State agencies (the Minnesota Department of Health and Pollution Control Agency) have told the city that any successor government would have to take over its water and sewer utilities. Nunda Township has said in a resolution that it lacks the staff, budget and equipment to run them. If water and sewer service ended, properties would need wells and septic systems.
If the majority votes no, Twin Lakes remains a city.

Who would notice

Everyone who lives or owns property in Twin Lakes, through who provides their government, water, sewer, fire protection and snow plowing, and Nunda Township, which would absorb the city's territory.

How it got here

Residents filed a dissolution petition in November 2025 signed by 35 qualified voters, more than half of the 65 who voted in the prior city election. After a January 7, 2026 hearing, Chief Administrative Law Judge Jessica A. Palmer-Denig of the Court of Administrative Hearings ordered on April 6, 2026 that the question go to voters on November 3. Under state law the court does not decide whether the city should dissolve; that is up to voters.

What each side says

Supporters

Petitioners believe the current City Council has made decisions that are not good for the city, object to tax increases because many residents are retired or have low incomes, and believe they would be better served by Nunda Township or Freeborn County. Petition organizer Pat Gavle told KTTC: "We didn't know where else to go. Nobody would help us." · Petitioners, as summarized in the court's order; Pat Gavle (KTTC)

Opponents

The City opposed dissolution in Resolution 2025-15, and Nunda Township opposed it, saying it does not have the personnel, budget, equipment or operational capacity to operate the city's utilities. City clerk Keith Haskell told KTTC dissolution "doesn't fix any of the real problems, or the root causes of those problems." · City of Twin Lakes and Nunda Township (court order); Keith Haskell (KTTC)

In the news

Twin Lakes mayor's race centers on dissolution vote, harassment allegations · KTTC, 2026-10-16
Twin Lakes residents seek to dissolve city amid conflict with officials · KTTC, 2025-12-04

Written by SpectrumVote from 4 linked sources (1, 2, 3, 4). Arguments are each side's own, not ours; the official text is what you vote on.

Background

The question is on the ballot because of a citizen petition filed in November 2025 and signed by 35 qualified voters. That was over half of the 65 people who voted in the city's prior election, according to an April 6, 2026 order from the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Court of Administrative Hearings.

The order says petitioners objected to City Council decisions and tax increases and to the departure of city employees. The City opposed dissolution in Resolution 2025-15, and Nunda Township also opposed it, saying it lacks the capacity to run the city's water and sewer utilities.

Under the order, if a majority votes yes, Twin Lakes (2020 population 134) would cease to exist six months after the election and become part of Nunda Township.

The order says state agencies have advised that any successor government would have to take responsibility for the city's water and sewer utilities. It notes the city has no debt.

Put on the ballot by Minnesota Court of Administrative Hearings (Chief Administrative Law Judge Jessica A. Palmer-Denig), order dated April 6, 2026, on a citizen petition (MBA No. DC-7).

From official source.

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Quick answers

What does a YES vote on City of Twin Lakes Question 1 mean?: The City of Twin Lakes would be dissolved.
What does a NO vote on City of Twin Lakes Question 1 mean?: The City of Twin Lakes would not be dissolved.
When would the city actually go away?: Six months after the November 3, 2026 election, if a majority votes yes. The land would then become part of Nunda Township by operation of law.
What happens to my water and sewer?: That is not settled. State agencies say a successor government must take responsibility for the utilities; Nunda Township says it cannot run them. The court said it has no power to assign them elsewhere and urged the city and township to plan with state regulators. If service ended, properties would need wells and septic systems.
What about fire protection?: Nunda Township does not have its own fire service; it is served by the Emmons Fire Department. The court found that if the Twin Lakes Fire Department is disbanded, response times for fires in the city would be longer.
How many votes does City of Twin Lakes Question 1 need to pass?: A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Should I vote yes or no on City of Twin Lakes Question 1?: SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.
When is the vote?: The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

Not sure how to decide? Read our nonpartisan guide to the Freeborn County ballot.

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