Albert Lea Mayor Vern Rasmussen Jr. will seek his fourth term as mayor this year.

He said he made the decision to seek another term after assessing reasons for and against running.

“After doing that, it really became apparent to me that I really have a passion still to see some of the things that we’re currently working on really happen, and I think there’s just a lot of good things happening in Albert Lea that I want to be a part of,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen, a physical therapist at Mayo Clinic Health System at Health Reach, was the first person in the city’s history to serve a four-year mayoral term.

He was first elected to the Albert Lea City Council in 2004 as the 1st Ward councilor. He served in that capacity until 2010, when he was elected to his first two-year term as mayor. He was re-elected in 2012 and 2014.

Rasmussen said he wants the city to have a good infrastructure plan while being financially responsible.

“We’re constantly selling Albert Lea to the rest of the world, and I want to continue to find ways that we can do it better, more efficiently and also be the one place where people want to be,” he said. 

Rasmussen said one of the city’s largest concerns is the possibility it will have to pay tens of millions of dollars to update its wastewater treatment facility. The situation could test the city in how it pays for the upgrades without creating an economic burden.

Continuing to battle for local government aid funding “is going to continue to be a fight that we need to be a part of, because it will change our life dramatically if we do not have it,” Rasmussen said.

He said he loves the community for its people.

“We have a real genuine herd here in Albert Lea,” he said. “I think that we care about each other. We do find challenges in change, and I think that’s the biggest piece that I hope to continue to play, is to help moderate that and move us forward so that we can be a competitive community.”

Rasmussen and his wife, Marilyn, have two children, AJ and Katie.

“I’m excited about the opportunities that lay in front of Albert Lea,” Rasmussen said. “There’s a lot of challenges associated with that, and I think that with a strong staff that we have and the council, I think we can move through these things and really continue to make Albert Lea a player in the economic world and also as a place for people to live.

“It’s really about trying to progress our community to the point where we have an opportunity for people to succeed.”

He is the first person to announce his intent to run for the mayoral seat this fall.