protect Local Government Aid funds.

Other candidates, including Conyers and Schafer, said the city also needed amenities to be attractive to potential residents and workers.

Schafer said the difficulty of attracting high-quality employees was "one of the constant complaints" he heard from local residents and businesspeople. Adding some of the amenities those employees look for, he said, "That's a key thing to help us bring people back."

The issue of amenities - in particular, a proposed amateur sports facility and expansions at the MERIT Center - was one that created one of the most clear divisions among the city candidates. With the exception of Bayerkohler, all candidates said they supported the projects. The city needed to invest in development in order to keep moving forward, they said. They said both projectscould bring people to Marshall as a regional center. If the sports center was managed responsibly, McKinney said, it would be good for the city in the long term.

However, Bayerkohler said he was not eager to approve tax increases for the two projects. Raising taxes for the MERIT Center expansions, he said, would be "subsidizing" other communities in the region who use the facility. Bayerkohler said he also thought building an amateur sports center would not have the best return on investment for Marshall.

"The question is, is this the best way to invest $20 to $30 million? I think not," he said.

Candidates were also generally in favor of improving transportation infrastructure around Marshall but had mixed opinions as to the feasibility of a four-lane highway project on Minnesota