Firings At Alerus Center

Cheryl Swanson, executive director of the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D., and assistant director Bob LeBarron have left the arena and convention center, effective immediately, according to a statement.

The two were “fired without cause” following a disagreement about the management of the facility with Grand Forks Mayor Mike Brown, the statement said.

Swanson has been a building manager since 1994 and has served IAVM in a number of leadership capacities including Board Chair of the Senior Executive Symposium. In 2014 she was honored as a Venues Today Woman of Influence.

“I think the (investigation into the Alerus Center) generally provides that the organization was broken, to a degree, under the leadership at the Alerus Center, from a people-management perspective,” City Manager Todd Feland told the Grand Forks Herald. “There were significant doubts about whether Cheryl Swanson, as executive director, had the skillset to help lead that organization back.”