News

Curt Hopkins calls himself a developer, entrepreneur and restaurateur. If those are akin to an art-form, then Ottumwa, Iowa, is his canvas. The 47-year old lived most of his life in Ottumwa, before moving to Albia a few years ago with his wife and four children. After obtaining his Associat...

DOWNTOWN DEMOLITION
Dec 17 2020Tracy Goldizen | The Courier
Demolition on the rear addition of 307 E. Main St. began recently. That portion of the former Iowa Southern Utilities was deemed unstable. As part of Main Street Ottumwa's 2020 Main Street Iowa Challenge Grant, the rear facade of the building, from the basement to th...

Announcing Iowa South
Dec 5 2020Regional Talent Attraction Initiative Aims to Help Local Businesses
Ottumwa, IA – Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) has joined forces with economic development organizations in the 9-county area, including Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress, to develop a regional talent attraction initiative branded Iowa South. The primary goal of Iowa South i...

Reshoring Can Help Ottumwa Today
Nov 30 2020The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a monumental problem to the cost-savings practice of offshoring manufacturing operations overseas that companies have used for decades. Reshoring is the logical solution for business executives across all industries, as 60% of U.S. manufacturing companies surveyed by Thomas reported COVID-19 business disruptions.
According to The Reshorin...

Hendred receives Gene Schultz Award
Nov 20 2020TRACY GOLDIZEN • COURIER FEATURES EDITOR
OTTUMWA: The nominations for this year's Gene Schultz Community Service Award recipient can be summed up in two words: passion and spirit.
Despite not hosting its annual banquet this year due to COVID-19, Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress still managed to surprise recipient Jeff Hendred prio...

TRACY GOLDIZEN • COURIER FEATURES EDITOR
OTTUMWA: Celebration was in the air of downtown Ottumwa Thursday evening.
Not only were people out to celebrate the streetscape project's completion with a ribbon cutting, but the community was also being recognized with the Small Business Association Iowa Small Business Community of the Year Award.
"I'...

Iowa Youth Straw Poll Results
Oct 28 2020U.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...

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...

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...

Pickwick expansion moving ahead of schedule
Sep 22 2020RACY 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...

Area Trails State in Census Responses
Aug 13 2020DES 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...

2020 Golf Classic Winners!
Aug 4 202050/50 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 ...

Rural Iowa businesses help respond to COVID
Jul 10 2020EDDYVILLE — 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...

Target, Grace property sales finalized
Jun 7 2020TRACY 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...

City of Ottumwa and Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress, Inc. are pleased to announce the award of $142,347 from a Rural Business Development Grant issued by USDA. The grant, which was submitted March 2, will be used for curb modifications at the intersection of N. Court St. and Fox Sau...

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 ...

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...

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...

Council backs grant application
May 7 2020MATT 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...

'Sesame Street' launches 2020 census starring the Count to remind families Everyone Counts
May 5 2020(reprinted from USA TODAY March 9, 2020 by Hannah Yasharoff)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — No other age group was under-counted more during the last once-a-decade census than children under age 5, researchers say. Sesame Street is hoping to use Count von Count to change that.
The Muppet best known as the Count is joining Elmo...

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...

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...
.png)
Recognizing Economic Developers in May
May 4 2020May 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...