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Interim admin. to continue in role until Jan. ‘24

With three out of the five most qualified candidates withdrawing their names for the open Freeborn County administrator position, the county has opted to suspend the search for a new administrator until the beginning of the year, at which time it will evaluate the best options for moving forward.

The board is working with South Central Service Cooperative to find the replacement following the termination of former Administrator Candace Pesch in April.

A press release stated recruitment efforts resulted in a pool of 12 applicants, with five candidates identified as being well qualified.

“After a significant screening process, three of the candidates withdrew from the recruitment process due to various personal reasons,” the release stated. “At the recommendation of Mike Humphal, manager of local government solutions at South Central Service Cooperative, the Freeborn County Personnel Committee has suspended the recruitment process until after the first of the year.”

Interim Freeborn County Administrator Ryan Rasmusson will remain in that position until that time when Humphal and the board will evaluate options.

Discussion about the issue happened in July, but after inquiry, the Tribune received a press release about the issue on Tuesday.