New Albert Lea Mayor sworn in on Monday

After current Albert Lea Mayor Vern Rasmussen announced his retirement last year, Albert Lea’s new mayor will be sworn in Monday.

Rich Murray will take his oath at Monday night’s city council meeting. After being on the City Council for six years, Murray says he has already got a full slate of priorities for the mayor’s office.

Notably, Murray says they’ve brought over 100 new jobs to the city in the last three years. He wants to continue that momentum.

“How do we help the businesses succeed here? Because if they succeed, if they add on more jobs, if they hire more people, then the city succeeds too. And we’re gonna go hard at it. We’re gonna really work to improve things, to add things, to help this community grow,” Murray said in an interview Sunday night.

Murray also says he will prioritize building more housing to keep up with job growth and economic development.

Other priorities include fixing up the wastewater treatment plant, and cleaning out the lake.