With several trustee positions in each of the county's three villages up for re-election, those thinking about running for public office should realize caucus season will be here before you know it.

The biggest caucus news is that Mark Dahlberg, Grantburg's village president for the past 14 years, is not seeking re-election.

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Other seats available include those held by Roger Panek, Tim Tessman and Glenn Rolloff, who was appointed to finish Jeff Finch's term.

In Webster, three trustee seats are available as Kelly Gunderson, William Rock and Tim Maloney have terms expiring in April. In addition, village president Jeff Roberts' seat is also up for re-election.

Dave Alden, Josh Henry, and Joan O'Fallon are the Siren trustees whose seats are up for re-election. The seat of village president Jan Hunter is also available.

Caucus dates are generally held during the village's January board meeting. In Siren, it's 2 p.m. on Thurs, Jan. 8, Grantsburg is 6 p.m. on Mon., Jan. 12 and Webster is 6 p.m. on Wed., Jan. 14.

The 21 townships throughout the county will also be having their caucus in January, typically at its regular town meeting.

Persons seeking office need to show up at the caucus, be nominated for the position and have that nomination be seconded.

Burnett County Deputy County Clerk Judy Dykstra said each nominee has a five-day period to file their paperwork accepting the nomination.

"They need to fill out a campaign registration form and a declaration of candidacy," she pointed out. "Incumbents choosing not to seek re-election should file a notice of non-candidacy, but it isn't required."

If more than twice the number of candidates to be elected is nominated, a vote must be conducted to reduce the number of candidates to twice the number of seats to be filled.

Each elector at the caucus is entitled to vote for as many candidates as there are seats to be filled at the election.

Those nominees will then have their names placed on the spring ballot.

Spring is also the time for school board elections and incumbents not seeking re-election need to file a non-candidacy form by 5 p.m., Fri. Dec. 26. Candidates seeking office need to file for their race by 5 p.m. , Tue. Jan. 6.

Incumbent school board members in Webster include Brenda Bentley, Chuck Macke and Scott Treichel. Grantsburg incumbents include Chris Erickson and Jason Burkman. Siren incumbents include Doug Coyour, Dayton Daniels and Dave McGrane.