Ben Larson

By GARRETT NEESE

The Daily

Mining Gazette

HOUGHTON — Houghton County’s new administrator will be a familiar face.

The county board voted 5-0 to hire Ben Larson at a special meeting Monday.

He will replace Elizabeth Bjorn, who submitted her letter of resignation to the board last week. She will continue to serve through the end of month.

Larson previously served as administrator from August 2020 to October 2021 before taking a job in the private sector.

“I left my position and was looking to go into something else, and then I was very surprised to hear that Liz told me she wanted to step away and go into retirement,” he told the board during his interview. “…We had an incredible time in my last go-round.”

Larson said he felt a “flood of emotions” coming up the stairs Monday. He recalled some of the difficulties of the job, whether contending with the pandemic or dealing with the death of former Sheriff Brian McLean.

“If it’s harder than when I took over, I’ll be very surprised,” he said. “…I would hope that it’s not, because that was a real time of trial. And we got through it. But it was incredible.”

Managing the growing population of Houghton County is the biggest issue Larson foresees currently, he said.

He said he would also like to work with the county’s Enduring Gifts Fund, which he created during his time as administrator, to assist with the county’s project to build a new jail.

The short length of Larson’s previous tenure was a sticking point with Commissioner Glenn Anderson.

While he respected Larson’s experience, he had “lost a little bit of respect” for Larson after seeing him leave so quickly, Anderson said. However, if the board wasn’t advertising the position, he would support the motion to hire Larson.

“He made great improvements when he was here,” Anderson said. “He’s a quick learner, and a quality guy and quality family man, so you can’t get any better person … one thing that the county doesn’t need is every two years or every three years or every one year to have a new County administrator,” he said.

He asked Larson if he would commit to spending at least several years as administrator.

“Sure,” Larson said. “Obviously things can happen, but I’m not intending to leave right away, that’s for sure.”

Bjorn said the county’s new accountant, Becky Ylitalo, plans to stay long term and will ensure continuity on the county’s finances.

Curtis Judson, manager at the county transfer station, also interviewed for the administrator position. Board members said either would have been a good choice.

Commissioner Gretchen Janssen initially asked to abstain from the vote. She had wanted to see the job advertised externally to attract more applicants.

Other board members said they wanted to ensure the new administrator had the most time possible to work with Bjorn before she left.

Her motion to advertise the position was voted down 3-2, with Anderson joining her in the vote.

Bjorn has been administrator since November 2021, and worked for the county for the past nine-and-a-half years. The board voted to accept her resignation Monday.

“This is a regretful situation,” Chair Tom Tikkanen said. “Elizabeth Bjorn has been an extraordinary administrator and has continued a very high degree of professionalism and organization with the administration department. Speaking for myself, we wish you and your family well.”

After the meeting, she said the biggest accomplishments in her tenure have included the sale of the county arena to Hancock, as well as the purchase of the Sharon Avenue property for a potential new justice center. Hiring Judson as manager of the transfer station has also been a great move for the county, she said.

“It’s a blessing to have good people in there,” she said. “There are so many people in this courthouse that you don’t see daily, but they’re doing their job 150%.”

Larson will work with Bjorn to get reacquainted with the position over the rest of the month. Bjorn expected it will be a smooth process.

“He knows the folks, he knows all the departments,” she said. “It’s going to be relatively seamless.”