Photo by Deb Gau Andy Meulebroeck, lead maintenance worker with the city of Marshall, stands in front of some of the snowplow equipment used to keep the runway clear at the city airport.

MARSHALL — Keeping Marshall’s airport runway open and safe is a big job — but it’s an important one, Andy Meulebroeck said.

“We don’t like to close the runways,” Meulebroeck said. The city airport plays a crucial role in emergencies, allowing medical flights a place to land in Marshall.

As lead maintenance worker with the city of Marshall, Meulebroeck spends a lot of time taking care of the airport, as well as maintaining public ways and the Minnesota Emergency Response and Industrial Training (MERIT) Center. His efforts, and his leadership on the job, were reasons why Meulebroeck was named the city’s 2023 employee of the year.

Last week, the city announced that Meulebroeck had received the honor.

“Andy goes above and beyond to make sure all job duties are carried out skillfully and efficiently,” said Dean Coudron, public ways superintendent for the city of Marshall. “He takes pride in his work and is willing to do whatever it takes to work as a team leader.”

“Andy can be counted on to be there for any need at the airport and throughout the city. We value his work, and he is deserving of this award,” said Public Works Director Jason Anderson.

Meulebroeck said he started out working for the city maintenance department as a high school student. He became a city maintenance worker in 2007. He was promoted to senior maintenance worker in 2016, and to lead maintenance worker in 2019.

Meulebroeck said the variety of his work was something he enjoyed.

“It’s something different every day,” he said. “If something’s not working, you’ve got to figure it out.”

At the airport, Meulebroeck’s work includes taking care of the runway and making sure the airport lights are functioning properly, as well as maintaining city equipment.

In winter, snow removal can be a big part of maintaining the airport. The city can’t use road salt on the runway, because it’s corrosive to aircraft, Meulebroeck said. Instead, he said, “It’s a lot of plowing, and then we’ve got a big runway broom.”

On the positive side, snow falling on the airport runway doesn’t get a chance to get compacted like it would on a street with traffic, Meulebroeck said. But there’s also a lot of ground to cover. Even with multiple people working, clearing snow from the runway is a task that can take hours, he said. Heavy snowfall — like the region got during the winter of 2022-23 — means putting in long days.

“Last winter got to be a grind,” Meulebroeck said.

Warmer weather brings a change of pace, with mowing and other maintenance tasks along public ways around Marshall.

Besides the variety of his job, Meulebroeck said he’s also enjoyed getting to work with city maintenance staff, and meet people in Marshall.

“It’s been a good place to work,” he said.

Meulebroeck said he was “kind of shocked” to learn that he had been named Employee of the Year.

“You feel honored, that people do appreciate the work you do,” he said. “It’s definitely an honor.”