Gausdal mayor steps down

The latest news from Innlandet over the past 48 hours puts local politics at the forefront: in Gausdal, mayor Stig Melbø (Frp) has announced that he will not be running as a candidate in 2027. A new shop has opened in the centre of Hamar, and the Norwegian government has announced tighter entry rules for Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Local politics: Innlandet news from Gausdal

Stig Melbø, mayor of Gausdal, has informed his party’s nomination committee that he will not be the Frp candidate for mayor in the 2027 municipal elections (NRK Innlandet). At 65, he is beginning his fifth term in municipal politics in this municipality in the Gudbrandsdalen region.

“I have worked a lot in recent years, and this is my fifth term in municipal politics in Gausdal. I will soon be 66, and I can do whatever I want. I therefore think it is good to have a little more free time,” he told the newspaper GD (NRK Innlandet).

Melbø became the first Frp mayor in the Gudbrandsdalen region this summer, following the departure of his predecessor Anette Musdalslien (Senterpartiet), who left the municipality and resigned her duties (NRK Innlandet). He nevertheless clarified that he will remain chair of Gausdal Frp until the party’s annual meeting and claimed that he is not definitively ending his political commitment. The local Frp must now find a new leader for the 2027 election.

Downtown Hamar sees business activity shifting

A new shop has opened in Hamar’s pedestrian street: Hampus, which is moving into the city’s gågata (Hamar Arbeiderblad, 13 November). The regional newspaper also devotes an article to a chain of stores that went bankrupt two years ago and now wants to try its hand in Hamar again (Hamar Arbeiderblad).

On the slopes of the fjell, Hamar residents are watching developments in their district and are saying goodbye to a cabin described as unusual by the newspaper (Hamar Arbeiderblad). These developments illustrate the commercial and property vitality of the Hamar district, with no quantified announcement available at this stage.

Sports: Oslo wants to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes

The Ministry of Justice and Public Security wants to instruct UDI (the Immigration Directorate) and POD (the police) to deny entry to Norway to Russian and Belarusian athletes coming to take part in competitions, as well as to members of their support staff (NRK Innlandet). The change is to take effect “shortly,” the government said in a press release.

“Norway already applies a restrictive visa practice for Russian and Belarusian citizens, but we are tightening the rules on who may come here,” Justice and Public Security Minister Astri Aas Hansen (Ap) said (NRK Innlandet). The minister justified the measure by the links between Russian high-level sport and Russian state structures.

Health: a 77-year-old doctor providing extra support in Elverum

Anna Støylen Hølland, 77, works as a substitute doctor in several nursing homes in Elverum, on a contract scheduled to run until the end of January (NRK Innlandet). A doctor since 1977, she is originally from Sunnmøre and has continued taking substitute positions across the country since retiring, notably in Jæren, Ringebu and Nordland.

She also worked for a year as a general practitioner for inmates at Ullersmo prison. “I’m afraid I’ll get bored, and I’ve always felt very happy at work,” she explains to NRK Innlandet. Her career illustrates how municipalities in Innlandet county rely on substitute doctors to ensure local medical coverage.

📌 Local news in brief

A school bus skidded and overturned on its side in Gjøvik on Thursday morning; three pupils were on board, one of whom was taken to Gjøvik hospital for a check-up, and the driver’s licence was revoked (NRK Innlandet).

Innlandet police issued a search notice on Thursday evening after a Swedish inmate from Gjøvik prison failed to return at the end of a temporary leave from 12:00 to 18:00; the man is not considered dangerous (NRK Innlandet).

Snowfall made roads slippery across the county, resulting in a busy day for convenience stores (NRK Innlandet). In Gudbrandsdalen, GD reports unprecedented difficulties in obtaining a passport and a dispute over nursery schools that is nearing its conclusion (GD Gudbrandsdølen).

Sources: NRK Innlandet, Hamar Arbeiderblad, GD Gudbrandsdølen, The Local Norway — Period: 12 November 2026 and 13 November 2026