Becker City Administrator Greg Pruszinske will be handling business at City Hall for one final week.

Pruszinske has accepted an offer to be the CA in Hibbing and will begin serving the Northern Minnesota city at the end of this month.

“Executive recruiters have been reaching out to me,” said Pruszinske, who has served Becker for 25 years. 

“As I have been contacted for various roles across the Midwest, we (wife, Paula) decided to look at relocating to a community north of US Hwy. 2 or West of the Missouri River.”

Pruszinske has been the CA at Becker for the last 12 years and was Asst. CA for 13 before that. He has also served three communities in Swift County and the Swift County community development office prior to Becker. His history also includes working for the Minnesota Senate for two legislative sessions and an internship for Community Development of Morrison County.

Hibbing is a city with a population of 16,361 (2010 census), quite higher than Becker’s 4,538. Hibbing was built on the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and is 72 miles northwest of Duluth, 208 miles north of Minneapolis/ St. Paul and 90 miles south of the Canadian border.

“Hibbing is a regional center which is intriguing,” said Pruszinske. “New challenges are also appealing. There are some fantastic projects Hibbing is working on including a combined Public Safety (police and fire) building and a remodel/expansion of its health/recreation/wellness facility.  Two great projects that will change the community vibe and were part of the decision.”

Greg and his wife, Paula love the outdoors and have frequented the area over the years — making the decision to go “up north” an easier one.

“We’re outdoors enthusiasts so Hibbing/St. Louis County will be a great fit,” said Greg. “My hunting camp is in St. Louis County, and we have family and friends in the Arrowhead Region.”

Pruszinske grew up in rural Chisago County; attended North Branch High School and graduated from St. Cloud State. He did his master’s work at Hamline, attended the Carlson School of Management and over the years has a plethora of ongoing professional development educational experiences. He is the youngest of four children from his parents. His father was a Teamster for 45 years and retired from the US Air Force with 26 years of service. Greg’s mom worked for Isanti County Health and Human Services and volunteered at the Stearns County History Center for many years.

Greg has been involved in dozens of monumental projects in Becker over the years and one of his top accomplishments has been creating a vision and charting a new direction for the Becker community that will see beyond coal after the shutdowns of parts of Sherco. He has also been instrumental in improving transportation connections like building Energy Drive to better access I-94 and growing local business and driving job growth.

Greg knows the proud accomplishments are unattainable without the cooperation and hard work of the past city councils and the current and past staff members under his service.

“We’ve brought more than $30 million in outside CapEx to the community, leveraged technology for efficient/effective delivery of services, recruited top talent, made a wide range of improvements to city assets including CIP to streets, water, sewer, wastewater treatment, Pebble Creek, Community Center, Parks, etc.”

Greg has also executed a Capital Improvements Program for the community, led the Coalition of Utility Cities as the President, delivered the keynote address to the Midwestern Governor’s Association hosted the Minnesota Governor’s office, Minnesota House, and Minnesota Senate Capital Investment Committees in Becker  as well as creating/improving systems that harden city operations and made the organization more effective and efficient.

Not all things have been rosy during Pruszinske’s tenure — he’s faced numerous serious challenges as he concentrated on the betterment of the community for all citizens. The toughest challenge Pruszinske recalls is one of the most recent. The decommissioning of Sherco I & II (the decision to decommission Sherco III is still pending).

“Extremely difficult because of the pending job loss, loss of tax base, and the financial loss the area,” said Greg. “Including direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts the plant has on Becker/Sherburne County and central Minnesota.”

One of Pruszinske’s regrets from his 25 years at Becker was the opportunity to install a pedestrian/bike path through the Business Park when the city built Energy Drive. 

“If I could do it again, I would push harder for this project,” he said. “That would be a great link to the Co. Rd. 53 trail being proposed/engineered. Then once the Co. Rd. 8 realignment happens our residents would have a fantastic trail to access the Mississippi River that loops the south side of the community.”

Greg commends the current council for all they’ve done and are currently doing  for the city and its residents. 

“They’ve been the best council I’ve been a part of over the years,” he said. “They’ve worked hard, worked together and have always had the city’s best interests in mind. It’s been a pleasure.”

Greg is also grateful for the numerous robust partnerships he and the city have made with so many people, businesses and organizations over the years.

“The Initiative Foundation; GSDC; Greater MSP; Xcel Energy; BNSF; Becker Township; Becker School Board; Becker Area Chamber of Commerce and the Sherburne County Board, to name a few,” he says. “Thanks to our representatives and senators in Shane Mekeland, Andrew Mathews and Tom Emmer, too. I’m sure there are some I forgot to mention… we’ve received fantastic support from those around us!”

The City Council will be using a search firm to recruit candidates for Greg’s replacement. GovHR is the name of the company the city plans to use and  Charlene Stevens is the name of the consultant that will be doing the work. Council is currently looking for an interim City Administrator until the new person is onboard.

“It will be difficult leaving the area,” said Pruszinske. “We’ve met so many great people. I work with a stellar City Council and have fantastic coworkers. We also have awesome friends in the area and have had many good times!

“It has been truly an honor to work with Greg for the past five and a half years and seeing all of the accomplishments within the City,” Community Development Director Marie Pflipsen said. “Greg will be missed, but I’m excited for him and his new opportunity!”

“I’ve appreciated the time that I have worked with Greg in my 15 years here at the PD,” Said Becker Police Chief Brent Baloun.  “He has always been willing to listen, and even when we didn’t see eye to eye, there was always a mutual respect for each other and our opinions.”  

Baloun went on to say he always had the ability to walk into Pruszinske’s office and talk about issues or concerns, and he has been willing to listen.  I

“Its been nice to have a boss who is my age, has similar life experiences, and see things in many ways like I do,” Baloun continued.  “I will miss working with Greg for his sense of humor, his passion and knowledge for the job and in consideration of where we are today since he took over as City Administrator.  Despite what may be around us, the city is in a great position due to his leadership over the years.”

“I have worked with Greg Pruszinske for the last 8+ years,” said Becker City Clerk Julie Blesi.  “He hired me as the City Clerk and over that time has given me numerous opportunities to grow in my professional career. I have watched as he made decisions, both easy and difficult, for the benefit of the City of Becker and its residents.”  

Blesi says Pruszinske has worked tirelessly since word of Sherco’s retirement to transition the city away from a coal based economy.

“He has set many pieces in motion to accomplish this transition, including $30 million of outside capital investment in the city’s Industrial Park to attract new businesses and give existing business reason to expand,” she continued.  “The City of Hibbing will be getting a very experienced City Administrator and I wish him the best!” 

“Greg has been great to work with and has always had the city’s best interests in mind,” said Rep. Shane Mekeland. “He will be a great asset to the City of Hibbing and will be missed by me and many others.”

Public Services Director Phil Knutson has had a unique perspective when it comes to Greg Pruszinske since he previously sat on the council when Pruszinske was the assistant CA and then became the full time city administrator. 

“Having both sides of it affords different views and how it works,” said Knutson. 

Phil notes that Greg has been through a lot of changes with the city and is departing with many big changes on the horizon, namely Xcel and the energy transition. 

“The one constant in his time has been the participation and the involvement with the CUC (Coalition of Utility Cities) and the fight to try and keep Becker at the table with Xcel and what will happen when that tax base goes away,” said Knutson. “He has worked with Xcel to lead development and increasing the size of the business park and trying to bring new industries into the park. We are all hopeful that these efforts continue to come to fruition and materialize for the stability and growth of Becker.”

“Greg has been great to work with,” said current councilman Rick Hendrickson. “As a CA, your bosses change every couple of years and what may have been the given direction with a previous council is now different with a new council. Greg has navigated those changes well. 

Hendrickson feels Pruszinske’s biggest accomplishment has been to make it so that host cities are considered when utility decisions are made. 

“I have been around long enough to remember when we were not even a blip on the radar when it came to utility decisions,” said Hendrickson. “We are certainly not the only group that desires to be heard but we are always mentioned just like native tribes, environmentalists and large industrial customers. Although many people have played a part, no one person is more responsible for that change in thinking at the state level than Greg. He was beating that drum long before most folks thought early coal retirements were even being discussed. He has spent literally thousands of hours working on coal transition issues both with the city as well as our Coalition of Utility City partners and we are truly in a better position today due to Greg’s hard work.”

Mayor Tracy Bertram also wanted to make a statement in regards to Pruszinske.

“I appreciate having had the opportunity to work with Greg over my time serving on city council and as Mayor,” said Bertram.  “With his guidance we have accomplished a lot of projects such as, long-term capital improvement planning, additional water well, business park growth and he’s tackled a lot of legislative issues.” 

Bertram jokingly said Pruszinske turned her into a government/legislative nerd while watching hours of bill hearings or sessions and learning who’s who at the Capital.  

“I Never thought I would have that kind of interest in government but somehow he made it fun to learn,” she said. “I will definitely miss his friendly disposition, his passion for the community and having a strategic partner. I wish him the very best in Hibbing.”