The filing period for the 5th District vacancy of the Mower County Commissioners closes at 5 p.m. tomorrow, and a special primary appears likely as five candidates have filed for the seat.

Business owner Mike Ankeny filed for the seat, bringing to number of candidates for seat to five.

Ankeny, 52, owns Ankeny’s Mini Mart No. 5, Ankeny’s Dairy Foods and Budget Oil Company.

Ankeny said he decided to run because he thought he could bring new ideas to the board. Ankeny, an area businessman of more than 30 years, said he’d bring the “practical and common sense approach” he uses to run his business to the role of county commissioner.

Ankeny has lived in Minnesota all his life and currently lives at 102 22nd St. N.W. He has not previously been elected to public office. Ralph Donkers, Mary Keenan, David Kolb and Marvin Repinski have also filed affidavits of candidacy.

According to Auditor-Treasurer Doug Groh, one other person picked the paperwork for the seat but has not yet filed. After the filing period closes at 5 p.m. tomorrow, candidates can choose to withdraw their candidacy until 5 p.m. Dec. 31, Groh said. The potential special primary is scheduled for Jan. 20 to cut the field to two candidates for the special election Feb. 10.

The seat, left vacant after the death of Commissioner David Tollefson, has to be filled between 30 and 90 days after the becomes vacant, which would be between about Jan. 4 and March 4.