Linn County supervisors move to appoint interim treasurer

Linn County residents have two weeks if they want to prevent county supervisors from naming Vickie Dippel to finish the term of county treasurer Michael Stevenson, who's retiring July 1.

Meeting this morning, the supervisors voted to file a notice of intent to appoint Dippel, now the deputy treasurer, to serve through the end of the year. Members of the public who object have 15 days to petition the county for a special election, at a cost of about $120,000.

Dippel isn't among the declared candidates seeking the office in November's general election. They're Democrat Sharon Gonzalez, a deputy in charge of the motor vehicle department, and Republican Joseph Clarahan, a controller at CCB Packaging in Hiawatha.

Stevenson, 66, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, has run unopposed for 24 years.