Ben Martig

Blue Earth City Administrator Ben Martig is one of six finalists for the city administrator position in Marshall.

The Marshall City Council announced the six at their meeting last Monday night. They will be interviewing finalists tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13.

Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes said he hoped the council would have a choice of who to offer the position to by the end of the day. There were 30 total applicants.

Finalists besides Martig are: Brian Beeman, Melrose city administrator; Douglas Gerber, the Beloit, Kan., city administrator; Scott Huizenga, project controls manager for the city of Kansas City, Kan.; Ronald Moorse, former Orono city administrator; and Robert Wolfington, Benson city administrator.

Marshall is replacing Mike Johnson, who was fired in January after 14 years in the position.

Martig has been the Blue Earth city administrator since 2001.

“This opportunity came up and I had mixed emotions about it,” Martig said. “It would be a significant career move, and would still be in greater Minnesota where my family and I want to continue to live.”

Martig said he found out that he was one of the finalists for the Marshall job after the Blue Earth city council meeting last Monday. He called the mayor to inform him, and told the rest of the council and city staff on Tuesday morning.

“I am very happy here and it (applying for the Marshall position) has nothing to do with any current discussions about my work load or my relationships with the council.” Martig said. “The timing is just a little unusual.”

Martig will take a personal vacation day Tuesday for the series of interviews in Marshall that day.

Marshall is a city of over 12,000 population in southwest Minnesota. It is the home of Schwan Food Company and Southwest Minnesota State University. The city has an annual budget of over $24 million and 94 employees.