MUNCIE, Ind. — Mayor Dan Ridenour announced on WMUN to host Steve Lindell that Muncie City Council President Jeff Green, a Republican from District 1, will take the responsibility of mayor for several weeks. Ridenour is expected to be out of office between most of June and July due to surgery for prostate cancer.

According to Indiana Code, if a mayor is expected to be absent from office they may have either a deputy mayor or a member of the city legislative body fill in. The deputy mayor position was defunded by council in late 2024, leaving the appointment of a council member as the only option. Ridenour told Lindell on radio “it’s not like he [Green] will be in the office everyday running the city, but he will be there in those instances where something needs to be signed or handled.”

Ridenour first announced his cancer diagnosis in late April in a video posted to the City of Muncie’s Facebook page. The diagnosis was a result of an October biopsy and a recent follow-up in April, and the mayor worries if the cancer “progresses so fast before we get it removed that it gets into other organs.” His surgery is scheduled for June 2.