Blog

Beth Bilyeu has worked as the executive director for Forest City Economic Development for 20 years and has assisted in dozens of projects. Tell me about your job and what you specifically do for Forest City Economic Development. Bilyeu: I handle economic development for Forest City; that includes business recruitment, working wit...Continue Reading

If you walk into the garage of Jim and Judith Miller of Hanlontown, you will not find a car, lawn mower or anything typically stored in a garage; you will instead see a pottery studio, home of Blue House Pottery, a business the couple has been running for 45 years. Judit...Continue Reading

Bison Graphics & Awards in Buffalo Center is “your one-stop print shop,” according to long-time owner Alan Carson, drawing in business within an hour radius. Most of his business lies in commercial printing, from business cards to note pads to catalogs to sales forms and much more. Carson also does custo...Continue Reading

“BrickStreet Theater is a surprisingly good theater,” according to one audience member. This double-edged remark became the motto of Forest City’s community theater that provides local adults and children the opportunity to feed their hunger for performance. The theater produces four shows a year, working nearly year-round. Each summer, the theate...Continue Reading

With no place to store the town’s memorabilia and some locals discarding historical items, Pam Angstman founded the Buffalo Center Historical Society in 2007 to be able to preserve the town’s history. Based at the Heritage Museum located within the Heritage Town Center, the Buffalo Center Historical Society has collected an...Continue Reading

The Worth County Historical Society works to preserve all aspects of life within the county’s history, including farming, school, business, military and much more. The group was formed in 1970, and members stored artifacts in local homes. Now, the society is based in the Worth County Museum in Northwood and consist...Continue Reading

The Winnebago County Historical Society has found innovative ways to dig up the past for all to explore while preserving/presenting artifacts and encouraging community involvement. The society was slowly formed throughout the 1960s as locals began collecting and storing artifacts in a home. When the Mansion Hotel in Forest City becam...Continue Reading

The Grafton Heritage Depot Museum remains a hidden gem of North Iowa, standing firm in its original location by the railroad tracks. While passenger transits stopped running in 1938, the building stayed open until 1974, when the last depot agent left. Motivated by the fact that Grafton was founded because o...Continue Reading

ADA Enterprises Inc. in Northwood is proof that small-town businesses can succeed and conduct business worldwide, including in Canada, Europe and Saudi Arabia. ADA started in 1974 in Minnesota as an animal flooring manufacturer and later purchased Premier Polysteel to manufacture playground equipment and outdoor furniture in 1998. Finally, in 2006...Continue Reading

On June 23, roughly two dozen local interns gathered at the Clear Lake Arts Center to network and discover how to become innovative leaders in the workforce. “Change is going to happen,” said speaker and workplace psychologist Celina Peerman. “Being change ready is a choice.” The night started with an ice breake...Continue Reading

By Kaylee Schuermann, Winn-Worth Betco Marketing Director Thompson welcomed a new mayor, Mike Hauan, last November who is looking forward to “improving the quality and life of Thompson.” The city is working on one major project: the water department. It has completed the first phase, water treatment, and are moving into th...Continue Reading

Pictured in the photo from left to right: Kris Singelstad; Eric Eden; Aaron Olson, Representative Henry Stone; Marisa Koeppen ; Krystal Thoe; Ashley Hoffman; Richard Schwarm; Mike Piper; Kris Belica; LuAnn Scholbrock ; Heidi Fedders; Scott Drexler; Nancy Khudtson Winn-Worth Betco and the Lake Mills Chamber Development Cooperation partnered with the Lak...Continue Reading

Lake Mills Motor Sports, Inc. has been serving Lake Mills with recreational vehicles since 1999. The business sells products like razors, side-by-sides, snowmobiles and ATVs, as well as Cub Cadet and Gravely lawn mowers. The business also offers a complete service shop for Polaris products. A second store located in Algona, title...Continue Reading

Last November, the City of Northwood welcomed Douglas Moehle back for his fifth year as mayor. Moehle is most looking forward to continuing to help Northwood sustain itself. “My fear is small-town Iowa is disintegrating, so I’m hoping to help Northwood survive,” said Moehle. “I’m hoping it becomes a nice enough plac...Continue Reading

At AMO Craft Barn, located in Joice, the world is its oyster. Annette O’Donnell opened her shop nearly three years ago, and the walls are lined from floor to ceiling with “one of a kind arts, crafts, upcycle, collectibles and antiques.” “I’ve got more stuff than I even remember having,” said O’Donnell. Th...Continue Reading

Arnie's Pump Services & Well Drilling, based in Rake, has been serving the area since 1974 with no plans of slowing down. Some of the business’s major functions are pump services and well drilling, as well as working with water softening equipment, plumbing fixtures, septic systems and pressure tanks. The five-man tea...Continue Reading

From a lumberyard to a breathtaking event center, The Timbers - Northwood’s Event Center serves the community in a way unlike any other. The lot was bought by a group of contractors who planned to use the land to build apartments. They soon realized the building’s structure was “too good t...Continue Reading

Hanlontown mayor Rick Scholbrock has been serving his town since 1995 and is looking to stay through his 30th anniversary. Scholbrock got his start in politics when the previous mayor convinced him to join the city council. He participated for two years before being encouraged to take over as mayor. “I lik...Continue Reading

Buckets Bar & Grill has been bringing communities together one drink at a time since 2019. Brian Andersen, owner, worked part-time for Squid Willy’s in Thompson for 15 years before coming into ownership of the bar in 2019. While the bar did not close during the transfer of ownership, Andersen looke...Continue Reading

Hello, I am Kaylee Schuermann. I have been working for Winn-Worth Betco as a Marketing Director since December 2020. You may have heard me on KIOW Radio with Mark Skaar on Fridays for morning conversation to promote events in Winnebago and Worth counties. You probably even saw me running around thes...Continue Reading

Kids Power Pedal Tractor Pulls, owned by Hanlontown mayor Rick Scholbrock, has been serving smiles to children’s faces all over Iowa and Minneapolis since 2005. Tractor pedal pulling is a competition between children 4-11 years old where the children sit on miniature tractors with weighted skids and pedal as far a...Continue Reading

Originally a school, the Bolan Schoolhouse & Cultural Center wiggled its way into the center of the hearts of the Bolan community as a historical landmark. From 1923 to 1956, the building was purposed as a schoolhouse. It was later relocated and used for a general and hardware store by th...Continue Reading