After five months of looking, Yankton is getting a new city manager, but at the expense of Canton. Canton’s current city manager is leaving for the position in a city five times its size. As SDPB’s Cassie Bartlett reports, the new city manager says the larger community has its advantages and challenges.
Amy Nelson has served as Canton’s city manager for four years, but is moving south to oversee development in Yankton. Nelson says even though Yankton is a larger community, Canton gave her a great start as a city manager and allowed her to develop her skills. She says her goals for Yankton include enhancing the quality of life for current residents, and also improving the business climate.
“There’s so much potential, where do you start. I’m sure as everyone in Yankton knows there’s so many great things going for it, it’s to prioritize. Sometimes getting the priorities can be a challenge. I’m sure when I get there, I’ll encounter other challenges, but that’s what makes the process really great is that you find out what challenges there are and sometimes in the end those things make your projects better because you look at things in a new way,” Nelson says.
Nelson says she’s looking forward to the future and her opportunities to help Yankton grow. She takes her new position in January. For South Dakota Public Broadcasting, I’m Cassie Bartlett.