Marion City swears in three council members; fire promotions and proclamations recognized

Marion City — The Marion City Council administered the oath of office to three council members and recognized two promotions within the Marion Fire Department during a special meeting in early 2026.

Mayor led the oath for Grant Harper, Sarah Menser and Kelvin Uniban; each repeated a standard oath to support the constitutions of the United States and the state of Iowa and to discharge the duties of a council member for the City of Marion. The mayor called the swearing a ceremonial start to the council’s term work for 2026.

The fire chief introduced promotions for two department members. He said Zach was promoted to captain in recognition of more than a decade of fire and EMS experience, paramedic licensure, a bachelor’s degree in fire administration and leadership roles including the department peer‑support program. He said Nate was promoted to battalion chief after 27 years of service, earlier promotion to captain in 2021 and recent completion of executive training at the National Fire Academy. The chief asked attendees to recognize their service.

The council also received two proclamations. A community representative read a proclamation about human trafficking awareness that urged reporting suspicious activity and described local outreach, education and survivor support; the mayor thanked the representative and partners for the work. The mayor read a proclamation recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national day of service and urged resident participation in local volunteer projects tied to the day of service.

Council members offered congratulations to the newly sworn members and expressed appreciation for departmental outreach, including recent CPR and AED training conducted for community groups by the fire department. No formal votes were required for the ceremonial items and proclamations.