As we continue to look back on the top local news stories of 2025, the search for a new City Manager in Two Rivers had to be included.
After serving almost 30 years in the job, Greg Buckley announced that he will be officially retiring on August 15th, the day he took the job back in 1996.
To find their next city manager, the Two Rivers City Council put together a committee in 2024 before asking the community what they want to see in the next person to lead the Cool City.
Following public feedback, the city worked with Public Administration Associates (PAA) to place an ad and begin accepting applications for the next city manager.
After narrowing down numerous applications, four finalists were selected: Former Purcell Oklahoma City Manager Sam Demel, Bug Tussle Wireless Executive Director Scott Feldt, Former Beaver Dam City Administrator Nathan Thiel, and Former Lake Zurich Director of Management Services Kyle Kordell.
In the end, the Two Rivers City Council formalized a contract with Kordell to become the next leader of the Cool City.
Council President Scott Stechmesser explained at the time, “Kordell showed us a lot of energy when he first when we first met with him during the interview process. He has a lot of good experience. He went to school for this type of position. He has a lot of good ideas that he’ll be able to bring to the city to help us move forward.”
When meeting with the public, Kordell said he wanted to move to Two Rivers to get away from big city life.
This connection with the community marked the start of his transition to his new role.
“We are looking for our next chapter,” he told SeehaferNews.com. “We were we kind of kind of take it a little easier and get away from the traffic of the suburbs and the crime and really like the town. So it felt good walking around here today. It felt authentic and real.”
Since taking office, Kordell has updated building permit fees, improved the city hall’s lighting and security, and rebid the city’s liability insurance.
He looks forward to progress for Two Rivers in 2026.
