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ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Department of Commerce certified balloting results to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission which show that Lake Country Power members cast 18,358 ballots, with 6,697 members in support of MPUC rate regulation and 11,625 members opposed.

Nearly 43percent of the co-op's 42,363 members returned ballots, which began with a petition drive signed by 512 members. The petition was submitted to the Department of Commerce on March 2, 2010. The result means the cooperative will maintain local control over rates and policies through its locally elected board of directors.[[In-content Ad]]The Minnesota Department of Commerce oversaw and monitored the balloting process and certified the results to the MPUC when the count was completed this week.

Lake Country Power, www.lakecountrypower.coop, is a Touchstone Energy® cooperative serving parts of eight counties in northeastern Minnesota. The rural electric cooperative provides services to more than 42,000 members and has offices located in Grand Rapids, Kettle River and Mountain Iron.

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