Houghton County hires Ben Larson as administrator, board accepts Bjorn retirement

The Houghton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously April 3 to hire Ben Larson as the county administrator at an MP‑12 salary of $86,000 with standard county benefits. The hiring followed the board’s acceptance of Administrator Bjorn’s letter of resignation; Bjorn is scheduled to retire April 30, 2023.

The vote came after the board considered three potential candidates. Becky Ylitalo declined the board’s invitation to be considered. Kurt Judson and Ben Larson were interviewed; Judson described experience as the Transfer Station manager for about 1½ years, previous automotive management roles and service as Chassell fire chief, while Larson summarized supervisory experience, past work at Finlandia and 16 years at Michigan Technological University and said he holds a master’s degree from Northern Michigan University.

Commissioner Gretchen Janssen moved to post the administrator position with an April 11 application deadline; Commissioner Glenn Anderson seconded. That motion failed on a 2–3 vote (Janssen, Anderson in favor; Tikkanen, Keranen, Britz opposed). Commissioner Joel Keranen then moved to hire Ben Larson at MP‑12 with an $86,000 salary; Commissioner Roy Britz seconded. The motion carried on a roll‑call vote: yes — Keranen, Britz, Tikkanen, Anderson, Janssen (5); no — none.

The board directed the Personnel Committee to work with Administrator Bjorn on a compensation package and present it at the April 11 meeting. The board previously accepted Bjorn’s resignation by motion earlier in the session.

Next steps: Personnel Committee follow‑up and the April 11 presentation of the compensation package ahead of Bjorn’s retirement on April 30.