GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A county judge based in Grand Island is set to retire at the end of the month.

Nebraska court administrators say 9th Judicial District Judge Philip “Mac” Martin Jr. is retiring on Jan. 31 after 25 years on the bench, which serves Hall and Buffalo counties.

Martin is a former president of the Nebraska County Judges Association and has served on numerous judicial committees throughout his career. He mentored new judges from across the state through the County Judges Education Committee for several years, training many of the judges who are on the bench today.

The first step in replacing Martin will be for the Judicial Resources Commission to call a meeting to determine whether, based on judicial workload statistics, his retirement creates a judicial vacancy.