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U.S. President/Vice President Kanye West/Michelle Tidball (no party) (135) Donald Trump/Michael Pence (Republican Party) (124) Joseph Biden/Kamala Harris (Democratic Party) (109) Don Blankenship/William Alan Mohr (Constitution Party of Iowa) (4) Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (Green Party) (4) Jo Jorgenson/Jeremy Cohen (Libertarian Party) (2) No votes: Roque Rocky De La Fuente/Darcy Richardson (Alliance Party); Ricki Sue King/Dayna Chandler (Genealog...Continue Reading

School board unanimous on purchase of Market on Main TRACY GOLDIZEN • COURIER FEATURES EDITOR OTTUMWA: The former Market on Main building is getting a new owner. In a unanimous vote Monday night, the Ottumwa School Board voted to purchase the building at the intersection of Jefferson and East Main streets. Superintendent Mike McGror...Continue Reading

GREELEY, Colo. Oct. 13, 2020 – Building on ongoing sustainability and social responsibility efforts, JBS USA and Plumrose USA today announced plans to invest $3.1 million to help Ottumwa, Iowa, respond to needs resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and invest in the community’s future. The companies have been working with local leaders t...Continue Reading

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RACY GOLDIZEN • COURIER FEATURES EDITOR OTTUMWA: Despite being the newest building in the Ottumwa school district, the Pickwick Early Childhood Education Center is in the midst of expansion. The need for the addition was first raised in the summer of 2019, just after the preschool completed its first year of operations...Continue Reading

DES MOINES — Ottumwa and Wapello County are trailing the statewide census self-response rate but are slightly ahead of responses nationally. With the deadline moved up to Sept. 30, Wapello County is at a response rate of 64 percent with Ottumwa at 63.8 percent, according to 2020census.gov data. The state average is a...Continue Reading

50/50 Ticket winner #368562 Champion Flight Winners Winger • 54 3 E Company 3B • 56 Wells Fargo (Elliott Oil) • 57 1st Flight Winner Bowling Motors • 62 John Deere Team #2 • 62 Elliott Oil • 64 2nd Flight Winners Bowling Motors • 71 Mid-American Energy • 71 3E Company 2B • 71 Pin Prizes Ladies Longest Drive - Amber Pargman ...Continue Reading

EDDYVILLE — Some of the smallest towns of rural Iowa are playing key roles in the fight of the global pandemic caused by the new coronavirus. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds visited a chemical company and a wheelchair maker in rural Iowa. At Wacker Chemical in Eddyville, Reynolds held a bottle of cyclodextrin whic...Continue Reading

TRACY GOLDIZEN • COURIER FEATURES EDITOR OTTUMWA: Two high-profile property transactions have recently been finalized. Target Corporation sold 1020 N. Quincy Ave., the former Target building, to Highlands Development, LLC, for $900,000 on a transfer dated May 28. That is the future home of the expanded VA Clinic. A separate transaction, date...Continue Reading

CHIARA ELENA ROMERO • COURIER STAFF WRITER OTTUMWA: Sieda is accepting applications for the Tenant Based Rental AssistanceProgram. Sieda Stabilization Director Ned Van Nostrand said the program provides subsidized housing for tenant-based housing. According to Sieda's website "it is a rental subsidy that helps make up the difference between what ...Continue Reading

CEDAR RAPIDS — It’s not shaping up to be the year she anticipated, but Iowa’s economic development director is confident the state will not only survive the coronavirus pandemic, but see opportunities as the crisis passes. “We’re in a very stressful time, but there is a light at the end o...Continue Reading

CHIARA ELENA ROMERO • COURIER STAFF WRITER OTTUMWA: On Tuesday county supervisors agreed to write a letter of support for the city's application for funding from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant. This is a grant program affiliated with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The city, according t...Continue Reading

MATT MILNER • COURIER MANAGING EDITOR OTTUMWA: Council members approved an application for a federal BUILD Grant to remake the area around the historic train depot and Ballingall Park. Discussions of major projects have been tough in recent weeks as the scale of the financial hit created by the COVID-19 pandemic begin...Continue Reading

  Travel Iowa is excited to announce its partnership with Bandwango to launch a digital Gift Card Marketplace to Iowa locations in an effort to drive cash flow to visitor-related business in the coming months. Greater Ottumwa Convention & Visitors Bureau encourages travelers to Let Ottumwa Surprise You when it is safe...Continue Reading

CHIARA ELENA ROMERO • COURIER STAFF WRITER OTTUMWA: Local small businesses experiencing financial hardship because of COVID-19 may qualify for some aid. The Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation used $100,000 to create and manage the Wapello County Small Business Impact Fund to assist local businesses. ORLF President Steve Dust said creating the fun...Continue Reading

May 4-9 is International Economic Development Week (EDW). It’s an opportune time to reflect on the importance of local economic development efforts in building a vibrant and sustainable community. In Ottumwa, economic vitality starts at Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress.  The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) created EDW in 2016 t...Continue Reading

Communities across the country have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by implementing various stages of stay-at-home practices and shutdowns of nonessential businesses. While  those practices seem to have directionally reduced the feared spikes, they leave less money for local governments to pay for expected services such as public safety, tras...Continue Reading

OTTUMWA — Local small businesses experiencing financial hardship because of COVID-19 may qualify for some aid. The Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation used $100,000 to create and manage the Wapello County Small Business Impact Fund to assist local businesses. ORLF President Steve Dust said creating the fund was important. “It is obvious t...Continue Reading

The country recommended people stay in their homes; airlines are grounding flights, the state has implemented shutdowns on schools and entire industries.  Your customers are being told to only leave for necessities; your employees are working from home, and you’re looking around an expanse of open space in what use...Continue Reading

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Monday, March 16th, the House and Senate worked all day and passed around midnight – a resolution suspending the session until April 15th and a bill (SF 2408) that contained the following provisions: Supplemental appropriations of $525,000 for the processing of COVID-19 testing kits at the State Hygienic Laboratory, $89 millio...Continue Reading