BLUE EARTH — On Wednesday, a sign was put up on the Walmart building. It read, “Store Closing.”

Tim Ibisch, city administrator, said that he heard of the store’s closing on Wednesday. According to the corporate office, the decision was based on the amount of revenue coming in.

The Blue Earth Walmart currently has 79 full-time and part-time employees.

Ibisch said that while the closing of Walmart will affect the city and many of the residents, his first concern is for the employees.

“We will certainly be there to help with the employees and our residents to make sure that they have the ability to move forward,” said Ibisch.

Ibisch said that the city will be looking for economic opportunities to utilize the Walmart building after it closes its doors.

Although the closing of the store may have a negative effect, Ibisch said, there is a silver lining.

“I think that in a lot of these small towns, downtown Main Street businesses are definitely affected when a big business like Walmart comes in. And when that business leaves, the hope is always that your downtown Main Street businesses will see a rise in the business that they have,” said Ibisch. “So I think some of our downtown businesses will probably be excited by the opportunity to see more customers coming into their businesses.”

Because the news just came out on Wednesday, Ibisch said that he hasn’t heard any feedback from the Blue Earth residents.

“I know that certainly there will be some local residents that are happy that it’s closing and some that are unhappy,” said Ibisch.

The Blue Earth Walmart’s last day is set for October 3.