Craig Cugini, city manager, city of Ishpeming

ISHPEMING — Craig Cugini was already hard at work on the third day in his new role as Ishpeming city manager, but he took time out for a public meet and greet on Wednesday.

During an interview after the event, Cugini said he applied for several municipal management positions including downstate Alpena and Sitka, Alaska, but he is grateful that the Ishpeming City Council chose him to help run the city.

“When I saw Ishpeming come up I told my wife, I said ‘Hey, we gotta see if we can work this out,'” Cugini said. “I was pretty excited about it because it was in my travel corridor of where I went when I was at Northern (Michigan University.) I had a family that adopted me from Humboldt. So I used to travel up to M-95 and go hunting and fishing with the boys and go back to Northern, so I would be staying in Humboldt and driving back to the dorms. So, this was all part of my corridor. I would stop and check the Ski Hall of Fame and do some fishing in the area.”

Cugini, a military veteran with over 25 years of government service including his most recent position as garrison commander at Fort Greely, Alaska, said his first priority is to get to know city operations.

“(I want to) learn its people, learn the connections that I have. This is one of those connectivity kind of settings,” Cugini said.

Once he achieves that, his goal is to put Ishpeming on the map as a “community of choice.”

“I am also trying to envision how I can improve the overall economics of the community. So in order to do that you have to have (the) budget, right? So you have to have a growing tax base,” Cugini said. “I have a lot of empty houses on the market in Ishpeming, so if I can draw in young families and make this a community of choice in Marquette County, then I can grow the schools’ enrollment, I can grow the tax base and then start focusing on community programs and building the community.”

In his off time, Cugini plans to enjoy the many outdoor opportunities the county has to offer, including duck hunting and fishing.

“That’s probably what I enjoyed about the U.P. in the first place is there were so many outdoor activities, so many things to do,” Cugini said. “I loved that about Alaska, I could just be outdoors so, when I am not at work, I don’t take work home with me. I want to be at home. I want to spend time with my wife and my dogs and do things that are fun, right? If you ask me why I want to be in the U.P. it’s the after work, but I am going to do the best for any community that I live in and Ishpeming is the choice for me. So, I’ll do what I can at both and live life to the fullest.”

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.