LEHIGH — Like a lot of little towns, Lehigh sometimes struggles to fill the once-busy buildings on its main street. But this year, the Lehigh cafe got a new tenant. Roger Smith has lived in Lehigh for 82 years and can remember when customers would pack into the Lehigh Valley Cafe for ...

BADGER — In 2018, the city of Badger said goodbye to Nadine Odor, who retired from her post as city clerk. Odor was the city clerk for 11 years. A celebration was held to honor Odor in October 2018. It was also Mandy Gascho’s first year as mayor. She became the first woman mayor of ...

EAGLE GROVE — In a few short weeks the preparations the city of Eagle Grove has made for Prestage Foods of Iowa’s new state-of-the-art pork plant during the past couple of years will be over. The $300 million, 650,000-square-foot plant will open March 4 and the impacts will become ...

CLARION — Attracting new businesses and improving the housing stock remain top priorities in Clarion as the city prepares for some potential growth, according to Jordan Cook, city administrator. “We are focusing on housing and what we can do to improve that,” Cook said. Clarion has ...

POCAHONTAS — Recent expansion in Pocahontas has meant that there are jobs available in town, as well as new places for people to live. Eric List, Pocahontas city administrator, said last year, Brand FX completed a major expansion project. According to its website, Brand FX manufactures ...

ALGONA — New faces and new places could be found all over Algona in 2018, as the city made preparations for the future. Perhaps the most notable event in Algona last year was the completion of city hall, which was rebuilt after it was determined the previous building no longer met the ...