Lucky 13!!
13 years ago this week, I moved to West Liberty and on my walk around town this morning I noticed how much has changed in that time. This town has made so much progress, to note a few things...
- Our downtown has added many shops and restaurants; several buildings have been redone and look stunning
- Our fairgrounds has been completely renovated with many beautiful historic buildings and is now one of the premier historic districts in the state; it is one of the largest county fairs in Iowa
- Our schools have several major capital improvement projects underway with more to come; we will have some of the best facilities in the state
- We have hard-working school administrators that have stayed longer than two years and are committed to success
- Our high school Fine Arts program has grown tremendously; the first year I moved here there were 26 band members and now there are over 75 (and I love band!!)
- Our sports programs are getting a big boost and Parks and Rec is adding more youth programs to feed the high school
- FFA is award winning - top in the nation
- Our churches continue to work together to put out tons of programming for youth and adults; I’ve never lived anywhere where the churches work together
- Numerous homes around town are getting new windows, siding, roofs; lots of renovations
- A beautiful commercial building went up across from BP with nice grass and trees; BP itself was totally redone in the time since I’ve moved here
- New commercial buildings were put up outside of town
- Two fitness centers have been opened in town and both are busy
- A new neighborhood is going in by Subway with single family homes
- Dutton is getting used all the time and we have a new training facility at 627; this is very common in larger communities, but we are lucky to have it in a small town
- Our community center has an awesome director and has had beautiful renovations
- West Liberty Foods plans to build a new, state-of-the-art facility and they have a new CEO; he is the best I’ve worked with in 25 years of corporate experience
- Our library has amazing program and serves a large community of youth every day after school
- Lots of sidewalk and road infrastructure projects are in the works
- Our Economic Development Director has written for tens of thousands of dollars in grants for the community and is winning them
- Our Chamber of Commerce COO is the hands down the best I’ve ever see; he has completely revived that organization
- There are school board and city government election signs all over town because people care and want to get involved; we finally have contested elections
- The rural community is strong and our farmers do so much for West Liberty; there is a surge across the nation for families looking for rural, small-towns to call home; they want a change of pace
- We are considered a ‘low income’ community, but we do not have crime; I’ve lived in major cities and low income and crime are usually correlated
- This is because we have hard working families who are trying to make a better life for themselves AND we have families with wealth who are giving it back to support the schools and community and our youth
There is so much more to mention, but I know this is just the beginning. There are many big things coming in the next decade. I’m so grateful for everyone working hard to make West Liberty a great place to work, live, and play. If you don’t live here, you are missing out.
Lisa Wertzbaugher
West Liberty