Hastings City Council fills Ward 1 vacancy as incumbent plans future in Wisconsin

Maraya King, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

DawnMarie Vihrachoff was selected last week by the Hastings City Council to represent Ward 1, following the resignation of Tina Folch.

Vihrachoff, who will serve out Folch’s term until Dec. 31, has lived in Hastings for 20 years and has more than two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership and fundraising roles, according to the city.

While the opening of the Ward 1 council seat came as a surprise, Vihrachoff said her decision to apply for the position did not. Raised by a single mother of four, Vihrachoff said her mother engrained in her and her siblings the importance of public service and volunteer work. “This was always something that I’ve thought about, but the actual opening was a happy surprise,” she said.

Folch, who was first elected to the city council in 2016 and reelected in 2020, announced at the Jan. 16 city council meeting that she would be stepping down with plans to get married and move to Hudson, Wis.

“I was engaged last May … and we had been putting off naming an actual date for our marriage, partially because of my obligations on city council, and we just can’t hold off no more,” Folch said at the meeting. “We really want to get hitched.”

Vihrachoff, who currently serves as the vice president of fund development for Northfield Retirement community, will take the oath of office March 18.

When asked Tuesday if she plans to run for the city council seat, which will be on the ballot this November, Vihrachoff said she is currently undecided.

“I think voting for somebody representing your community is some of the most important and meaningful work you can do,” she said, emphasizing that she has yet to be sworn in. “If I feel like I was an effective advocate for [the community], then absolutely I would spend my summer door-knocking and asking for their vote.”

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