Supervisors Discuss Christmas Decorations, BOOST Grant

SIGOURNEY – During the Nov. 12 meeting of the Keokuk County Board of Supervisors, Jenny Thompson of the committee putting on the Sigourney Hometown Christmas Festival asked the board for permission to put an old pickup truck on the southwest corner of the square. She explained that the truck will be decorated, possibly including a tree in its back, and that it will only be put up a few days before Thanksgiving and be taken away shortly after the festival, to avoid damaging the courthouse lawn. The supervisors gave Thompson permission. Thompson also noted that the city had agreed to put up the Santa and candle this year, but that the committee was fundraising to either repair or replace the Santa.

During the Nov. 18 meeting, Supervisor Daryl Wood stated that he and other members of the IEDA BOOST Grant committee had done a tour of Sigourney with advisors sent by the Iowa Economic Authority. He stated he learned there were a lot of little things they could do to improve the community, like putting up signs directing people to things like the schools, soccer fields, Legion Park and the town square, or sprucing up the outside of businesses. He stated it was important to start with the small things, to keep people from getting discouraged.

Wood stated they needed to recruit more people to work on improving the community, to avoid burnout, and that they needed to get involvement from the other towns in the county. He also noted that the committee needs to get involvement from young people, noting he was one of the younger people on the committee. He stated they needed to talk to young people, because the goal is to draw in or keep younger families in the area.