Karper, Plevel and Fisher are winners

Two incumbents and one challenger won the Columbia Falls municipal election in a relatively close five-way race for three seats.

Doug Karper, who has served on the council for more than 12 years, was re-elected with 270 votes. Incumbent Julie Plevel, who has served six years, got the second highest number of votes, 250. Darin Fisher came in third with 248 votes.

Challenger Sammi Johnson came in fourth with 225 votes, and incumbent Harvey Reikofski came in fifth with 194 votes.

Voter turnout in Columbia Falls was low, with 16.43 percent of the city's 2,653 registered voters casting ballots.

Karper was first elected to the city council in the mid-1990s. He served in the Air Force and ran the Park Merc on Nucleus Avenue before taking his current job as head of maintenance for School District 6.

Plevel, who is a Realtor with Re/Max Mountain View, moved to Columbia Falls in 1992. She has served on the city parks board and was on the committee that oversaw acquisition of River's Edge Park.

Fisher is a trail builder for the Forest Service's Hungry Horse Ranger District. This year, he spent his own time and money developing a plan for construction of a primitive path from Columbus Park to River's Edge Park. He and his wife moved to Columbia Falls from West Yellowstone about 2 1/2 years ago.