Meet Treynor's New City Manager: Mike Holton!

Did you know that Treynor has a new city manager?  Mike Holton is a man of many talents and a very interesting background!  Mike grew up in Tilden, Nebraska before heading off to get his undergrad in Counseling and Psychology and Master’s Degree in Public Administration at USD in Vermillion. 

Holton has done the trifecta.  He’s worked in the profit, nonprofit, and government sectors.  That is quite a résumé!  He was a director of racing doing horse and dog racing management in Dubuque and actually helped Bluffs Run kick off their greyhound race track back in the day, but kids changed all that! 

Happily married for 31 years, Mike says that he switched over to being the Director of Rural Affairs in Lyons, Nebraska when the kids came along.  A self-proclaimed family man, he and his wife have 4 grown children with 8 grandchildren and 1 on the way.  He said he knew he needed to be passionate about a job that didn’t require quite as many hours.  So Director of Rural Affairs it was.  He did leadership training, spoke in front of groups, and worked with farmers.  He said he’s always been a small town guy.

From there, he moved on to being a city manager for Plainview, Nebraska and had been quite content doing so as Plainview was a self-sustaining town located further away from any major cities, but a friend contacted him and suggested that Treynor might be a good fit.  He did some research and decided Treynor it was.  He took the call from the City Council and was intrigued by the youth on the council, the friendliness of the town, and the newer businesses like Silos and Treynor Java Supply.  It sure didn’t hurt that there’s a beautiful golf course in town, too! 
 
Mike is actually working on his PhD in Public Administration and saw so much potential in Treynor!  He saw the community building, Prairie Crossing Winery, TS Bank, and Vision Treynor as a few more assets he knew would fit with his economic, marketing, and community development background. 

We talked about what he saw in Pottawattamie County beyond just Treynor, and he shared his new favorite line, “that’s how we do it in Southwest Iowa”  which he’s heard repeatedly and has come to realize means everyone is willing to do more than expected.  Amen to that!

Although COVID-19 is putting a damper on his meeting and greeting everyone, he’s already taking steps to put his plans into action.  He’s tying up loose-end infrastructure projects like sewer, water, and community building improvements that can be done in small numbers but looks forward to meeting everyone.  He even mentioned that he loves working with youth and looks forward to being a well-rounded community guy!

Mike, welcome to Treynor and Pottawattamie County!  It sounds like you’re just the man for the job, and we’re glad you’re here!
​