Business has been booming on Dayton’s Main Street, despite the pandemic.

This year, the town added home decor shop Chateau Moo and Dayton Doggie Ranch, a dog spa and daycare service.

The businesses join Miry Clay Pottery, the Iron Saddle Saloon, Dayton Community Grocery and others that have helped round out the small town’s offerings.

The town has also seen two businesses, Kelso General Merchandise and Kelly’s Country Relics, relocate within town and expand.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
NEW Cooperative Inc. is pictured in Duncombe recently.

John Skoglund, president of the Community Club in Dayton, credits the boom to affordable, available space in town.

“In my opinion, a business feeds off other businesses. The more the merrier,” he said. “As traffic builds, people come to town when they’ve got five places to shop rather than one. They complement each other, and that helps.”

And in a pandemic, he said the business moves and openings demonstrate a resiliency in Dayton as businesses adapted and promoted one another for everyone’s benefit.

“Working well together has made the difference,” said Skoglund, owner of Skoglund Auto and Power.

Also new in Dayton is S&K Storage Units on Main Street, which renovated a vacant building and added a new apartment to the upper level. The building was formerly home to Frontier Lounge.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
A two-block section of Center Street in Barnum was redone in 2020.

In 2021, Dayton has its fingers crossed for a successful Dayton Rodeo, which was canceled last year, as well as the Dayton Expo. The Dayton Expo, usually held in the spring, has been rescheduled this year for Sept. 18.

Duncombe

After creating short-term and long-term goals in 2019 through the creation of an urban renewal plan, Duncombe is hoping to undertake storm sewer and sanitation repairs within the next two years, according to City Clerk Lynda Wunder.

The projects, not yet finalized with funding or designs, are still in flex, but Wunder said there may be grants available to help get them off the drawing board and into the ground.

Duncombe is also hoping to revive its Duncombe Days celebration soon, a project taken up by citizens in 2020 that was interrupted by the pandemic.

-Photo by Hans Madsen
Hummingbird Confections owner Kaitlyn Stewart pipes icing onto a batch of cookies in her kitchen recently. Hummingbird Confections offers a wide variety of goodies including cakes, cupcakes and cookies.

“Unfortunately, the things we wanted to get off the ground couldn’t because of being stalled with the virus,” Wunder said.

Citizens are hoping to revive the celebration on a smaller scale than when the town held it years ago. Duncombe will be nearing its 150th anniversary within the next couple years.

Barnum

One of Barnum’s priorities came to fruition in 2020 as the town repaved two blocks along Center Street.

The project was previously postponed as contractors were too busy to take it on.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
In Badger, a new housing development is underway.

“We didn’t have the money to pay for the whole street last year, so they allowed us to pay for part of it (in 2020), and the other part this year,” said Mayor Jim Byson Sr.

Byson said the city is planning its annual spring clean up again at the park this year.

Callender

Hummingbird Confections opened on Thomas Street in Callender, making things in town just a little bit sweeter.

Though the bakery and cafe has been in business since 2012, owner Kaitlyn Steward decided to open the storefront in 2020 when the business got too big to run out of her house.

-Submitted photo
Lehigh hopes to resume its annual River Days celebration in 2021.

“We were making too much for the license we had, so we had to get into a commercial building,” Steward said. “We decided to build a little shop here in town.”

Like most businesses, she said it was a challenge in 2020, particularly with road construction happening at the same time as the pandemic. But loyal customers have gotten the business through the year, and the storefront has brought in new customers from Fort Dodge and surrounding towns.

In addition to a variety of sweet treats, they serve breakfast and lunch.

A Main Street project came through in 2020 as well, replacing the street in town.

“That was a project that needed to be done,” said Callender Mayor Randy Hanson, as the street last redone in the ’80s was starting to show its age.

Construction started in August and ended in November.

The city repaved asphalt on several other blocks in town and added new six-inch water mains and hydrants.

The city has also added new electric and water meters that can be read automatically, saving the city labor costs for meter reading. The new meters can alert the city to unusual water usage, such as a leak.

Badger

In Badger, the remaining lots in a new subdivision on the east side of town were sold as part of phase 1 of that development, according to Mayor Chris Wendell.

The town also had the Badger water tower serviced and repainted, the mayor said.

The Fire Department, which is a separate entity from the city, just purchased a new heavy rescue bumper truck a few weeks ago, Wendell said.

For 2021, the main project planned for Badger is some landscaping around the town and in Knudson Park.

Clare

All was quiet in Clare for 2020, according to Mayor Barb Passow.

The town’s NEW Cooperative location did upgrade its “32% tank,” she said.

The residents of Clare can expect some road construction as C66 will be upgraded at some point during 2021, Passow said.

Lehigh

Over the last year, Lehigh has completed three FEMA projects and shored up areas in the town’s low-point location along the Des Moines River to make it drier and safer.

The projects were taken on after a rough year in 2019 that brought major spring flooding.

“We don’t know if it’s safer yet since it has been drier, but it appears it’s going to take care of the biggest part of the situation,” said Mayor Paula Martin. “When the river gets so high, you don’t argue with it. You do what it wants.”

Lehigh’s water treatment plant is also in the final stages of completion, where the town’s filtration system will be replaced and better pipe will be laid in the ground. The project, originally estimated to cost about $650,000, ended up costing closer to $800,000, according to Martin.

Lehigh also sold one of its Main Street buildings, owned by the city for several years, for potential renovation. The sale was finalized in late January.

The building, right next to the town’s bank, has the potential for a business on the lower floor with one or two apartments upstairs.

“The buyer inquired about what we needed. We said we sure needed a little grocery store,” Martin said. “He was really receptive to that.”

Like many small, rural towns, housing stock is a challenge in Lehigh. Martin noted that houses and apartments turn over quickly, and that there always seems to be a need for more housing.

Harcourt

The city of Harcourt replaced several streets and made repairs to the roof of the community center in 2020, according to Mayor Grant Gibbons.

A major effort the city has taken on in recent years is revitalizing its city parks. Most recently, the tree trunk art piece in the south park was painted to preserve it and complete the artistry, flowers were planted in whiskey barrels for a pop of color and some older, dying trees were removed from the parks.

In August, the city hosted a pig roast in the city park, Gibbons said. More than $2,000 was raised with all proceeds going toward repairs at the Community Center.

Moorland

In July, Moorland will be one of the pass-through towns for RAGBRAI XLVIII heading to Fort Dodge. Thousands of cyclists will ride through town on July 26.

Otho

Otho finished up a major road construction and sewer project in 2020, according to Mayor Mark Groat.

For 2021, Groat looks forward to the town being able to host its events like the Fourth of July celebration and the Otho Fireman’s Ball, after most events were canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Groat also said that the long-awaited return of the Otho Pub is expected to happen in 2021 as the new owner finishes the remodel of the building.

During any future power outages, the lights will still be on at the Otho fire station and the big garage doors will still roll up automatically so the trucks can go out.

A new generator, paid for in part by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, will make that possible.

The generator was installed in December.

Fire Chief Marty Smith said it will start running automatically whenever there is a power failure.

“Any time the power goes out — boom — it goes on,” he said.

Backup power is needed to support the operations of the Fire Department. But it is also needed because the fire station is the emergency shelter for the city.

“For many reasons, we needed a generator,” Smith said.

The diesel-powered generator cost $37,400.

A $20,200 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture covered much of the cost.

The remaining roughly $17,000 came from the city government and the Otho Fire and Rescue Association, which is the Fire Department’s fundraising organization.

Vincent

This year, Vincent is looking to potentially bring in new developments with four city lots for sale.

“We’re waiting for people to purchase it for new homes,” said City Clerk Sarah Geisinger.

The lots have been listed for more than a year. With the Prestage Foods of Iowa pork plant just down the road, the small town of 174 could be just the right bedroom community for families with children looking for a quiet place to live.

“We’ve had some families move into town with younger kids. They like to be able to walk around town and be safe in that regard,” Geisinger said.

At the intersection of Webster County road C56 and 140th Street just south of town, the lots are the former site of the Vincent School building.

The site has been split up into four residential lots and the lots are closer to development now that the streets and utilities are in. Mayor Lyn Adson previously told The Messenger that the city would be offering opportunities with those lots for a five-year tax abatement program.

The demolition of the site — which was active as a school from 1960 to 1983 and later housed an antique gallery — was funded by a grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

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