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[DULUTH, MN] City Administrator Matt Staehling has announced his impending departure from his role in the City of Duluth. Staehling will return to the City of St. Cloud at the beginning of March. His final day in the city administrator role will be February 28, 2026. Matt joined the City of Duluth in 2025 following a 29-year stint in various leadership roles with the City of St. Cloud. He will re-join the City of St. Cloud’s executive leadership team.

“I am grateful to Administrator Staehling for his leadership and service to Duluth. Matt has been a solid source of stability through budget and policy challenges, and a true "happy camper". Under his leadership we have accomplished multiple significant objectives including a balanced budget and moving forward the former Lester Park golf course. We wish him our very best as he returns to the City of St. Cloud,” said Mayor Roger Reinert.

“I’ve truly enjoyed the time I’ve spent in service here in Duluth. This city, with its unique landscape, community, challenges, and opportunities, is fortunate to have some amazing people working here. From front line staff up to the leadership team, across all departments, City of Duluth employees are incredibly dedicated, smart, caring public servants, and I’ll really miss working with the team here,” said Staehling.

Mayor Reinert has appointed Karla Culhane, a nearly 30-year veteran employee of the City of Duluth, as the Interim City Administrator. Culhane is currently the Director of Administrative Services and has a background in information technology and cybersecurity, and a deep background in labor management.

“I’ve known and had the opportunity to work with Director Culhane since I was a City Councilor over 20 years ago,” said Mayor Reinert. “She routinely steps up to take on any challenge thrown her way. Karla has a strong work ethic, a passion for the City of Duluth organization, and is a strategic systems-thinker. She’ll bring unique perspective to the role, having sat at both sides of the labor negotiations table, and having served the COD organization over five mayors and administrations.”

“I am humbled and honored to step into this role and eager to deepen my service to our organization and the Duluth community,” said Culhane. “I follow in the footsteps of many talented administrators and appreciate Administrator Staehling’s efforts to bring me up to speed on current priorities and major projects to ensure a smooth transition. I am grateful to Mayor Reinert for his trust and look forward to working with our leadership team to address both new and ongoing challenges.”

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