The township and the county

PENN TOWNSHIP AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTY AS THEY TOUCH THE TOWN · THE TOWNSHIP'S WHOLE IS THE MISHAWAKA BUILD'S

Osceola sits inside Penn Township, and the township is not a backdrop — it is half the town's government. Penn Township was laid out on May 6, 1832, when the county commissioners divided St. Joseph County into three townships and named the eastern one Penn; it then took in what are now Penn, Harris, and Madison townships and parts of three more, and it remains the county's largest township. Its trustee in November 2026 is Doris Portolese (Republican), in office since 2015 and serving her third term; the trustee is the township's executive — poor relief, township property, and the fire territory's township side run through that office. Portolese stood for re-election on November 3, 2026, against Nancy Duncan (Democrat); the township returns were not carried in any results source reached, and the winner is carried as GAP-OSGOV-9, settled by the County Clerk's certified canvass — the same instrument that settles this build's township questions in the neighboring Granger file. The township board's 2026 ballot (vote for three) carried Joshua David Lange (Democrat) and Republicans Kent D. Hizer, Doug Stutzman, and Mark A. Voelker; Hizer and Voelker were sitting members. One official act of the fall is in the record whole: on October 16, 2026, the St. Joseph County Election Board voted 3-0 to publicly reprimand Portolese, Hizer, and Voelker over a campaign booth at the August Osceola Music Festival that had featured Penn Township Fire Department materials and on-duty personnel — the complaint filed September 23, 2026, by the county Democratic chair; the board declined further investigation. Beyond that pointer, this section does not re-tell the township: Penn Township's government, trustee line, and fire department are seated whole in the Mishawaka build, whose city is the township's other municipality, and the Granger build carries the township-adjacent record for Harris. The county seats covering the town, as of November 11, 2026: the Board of Commissioners' District 1 is held by Carl Baxmeyer (Republican), the board's president; on November 3, 2026, Bill Redman (Democrat) defeated Baxmeyer, 16,735 votes to 11,924, and takes the seat January 1, 2027 — he is printed as holder-elect. The County Council's District I, the Osceola-and-Mishawaka district, is held by Andy Rutten (Republican), elected November 5, 2024. The courts that sit on Osceola cases are the county's, in South Bend — the Kirk remonstrance sat in the St. Joseph Superior Court, before Judge William T. Means. Above the county: the town is in Indiana's 2nd congressional district, held by Rudy Yakym (Republican, in office since November 2022 and re-elected November 3, 2026); in State House District 21, held by Timothy Wesco (Republican) of Osceola itself, in the House since 2010; and in State Senate District 11, held by Linda Rogers (Republican) through November 4, 2026, with Gabrianna Gratzol (Democrat) — the name also prints "Gabrianna Gratzol Hartman" in the Tribune's candidate questionnaire — having won the seat on November 3, 2026, 19,450 votes to 18,381, her seating a matter of the Senate's calendar rather than this section's as-of date.

Sources:

1. Town of Osceola, "History" page (History Museum material): the township division of May 6, 1832.
2. Redress South Bend (May 9, 2025): Doris Portolese, Penn Township Trustee since 2015, third term; South Bend Tribune (September–October 2026): the trustee race against Nancy Duncan, the township board ballot, and the Election Board's October 16, 2026 reprimand.
3. St. Joe Current, 2026 general election results (updated November 9, 2026), and the South Bend Tribune (November 2026): Redman over Baxmeyer, 16,735–11,924; Gratzol over Schmutzler, 19,450–18,381; Yakym re-elected.
4. Andy Rutten campaign site (endorsement, August 23, 2024) and the St. Joseph County Council district map (October 2025): County Council District I, Osceola & Mishawaka.
5. Wikipedia and Indiana General Assembly records: Rudy Yakym (IN-02, since November 2022); Timothy Wesco (House District 21, since 2010, of Osceola); Linda Rogers (Senate District 11, November 7, 2018 – November 4, 2026); Indiana Code 2-1-15-11 (Senate District 11's Penn Township precincts).