Ex-Kalispell manager hired in Iowa city

Jim Patrick, former Kalispell city manager, was hired Monday night as the new city manager for Storm Lake, Iowa.

Patrick was fired as Kalispell’s city manager in October 2008.

Storm Lake’s mayor and city council announced Thursday they had reached an agreement with Patrick, then formally ratified the contract at their Monday meeting.

He starts work on Jan. 4.

Patrick was one of four finalists for the job. He rose to the top among a field of 60 or 70 applicants in a national search, Storm Lake’s city clerk told the Inter Lake on Tuesday.

Patrick’s annual salary will be $103,000, with an additional contribution of $7,000 toward a retirement plan. The city also will pay moving expenses.

During the selection process, the Storm Lake Pilot Tribune reported that Patrick saw a lot of similarities between Kalispell and Storm Lake. The Iowa newspaper also cited Patrick’s information that Kalispell grew about 6 percent a year under his tenure. Patrick said the biggest challenge was “keeping up with the growth and helping the infrastructure grow,” the paper reported.

“The progressiveness of the community and the great employees that are already working hard on behalf of the citizens were two of the biggest reasons for making the choice to accept this job in Storm Lake,” Patrick was quoted in a press release from the city’s public information officer.

Storm Lake Mayor Jon Kruse said the city is “excited about the skills and experiences” Patrick brings. “He also articulated the values that we feel are important in our government organization including customer service and sound fiscal management,” Kruse said in the city’s statement.

Storm Lake is a city of about 12,000 in Northwest Iowa, surrounded by farmland and capitalizing on the lake to draw tourists. Its economy also includes two colleges, a regional retail center and agricultural processing.

Reporter Nancy Kimball may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com