Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer).

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year’s! At least we got a break from all the snow we were getting in early December.

I’m excited to have celebrated my 1-year anniversary since I took the oath of office as a County Supervisor. Thank you for the opportunity to represent you as District 3 Tama County Supervisor. There were several challenges and several wins this year. Many unforeseen circumstances led to outcomes that were not desired by most of my constituents, but the current Board of Supervisors did the best that we could do to resolve issues from past years. In just one year, we’ve made huge improvements with the budget and will continue to thoroughly review the budget over the next couple of months. Economic Development and Secondary Roads Departments have been a focus of the Board, and I feel they are now set up for success.

I’m proud to have followed in Jean Kruse’s footsteps by writing columns as a Tama County Supervisor to be put into the local newspaper. I successfully had 12 columns I wrote in 2025 and did so without using any kind of Artificial Intelligence. I never considered myself a writer, but I do enjoy doing a recap each month to provide an update on the Board of Supervisors department from my perspective.

The Tama County Board of Supervisors met in December at the Traer Public Library with the Tama County Economic Development Advisory Council, which includes representatives from schools, cities, and businesses that are interested in helping with Economic Development in Tama County. It was a cold night with some snow squall alerts in the area. In attendance was John Hall (President and CEO of Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce), Michael Geerdes (Grundy REC General Manager), Michelle Roseburrough (Business Engagement Consultant with Iowa Workforce Development), John Cain (Superintendent of North Tama and South Tama Schools), and Jonathan Meyer (Tama-Grundy Publishing). In the meeting, we learned about Revolving Loan Funds that business owners and start-up businesses can use to secure a loan through Grundy REC. These non-bank loans may be secured with lower interest rates than what banks offer. John Hall discussed Marshalltown Chamber aligning with Tama County in more detail. Examples he cited are the Ames Alliance which has Economic Development services for cities in multiple counties, and Grundy-Butler County Economic Development who have also joined forces. It’s now become very common to share Economic Development services between adjoining counties. Last year’s budget for Tama County Economic Development was $273,000 for two office staff plus benefits. With the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce partnership, we will be paying $150,000 the first year, $160,000 in year 2, $170,000 in year 3 and $125,000 per year going forward with private businesses helping with funding after seeing our success. A full-time staff member will be hired, dedicated to Tama County, and they will have an entire elite team helping them out, including John as CEO who has existing relationships with the largest employers in the County. This new employee will be hired soon and will start getting to know local businesses, council members, and chambers with in-person visits. I will provide the name and contact information when available later in January. The Advisory Council will continue to work on this initiative with the new employee as they strategize together and will report on the clear deliverables on a quarterly basis. I will be the Board representative for Tama County and the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce. The Board of Supervisors approved the contract for 5 1/2 years, with an exit strategy for both parties if changes should arise.

Interviews were held for the two Secondary Roads Foreman positions. The full Board of Supervisors, Auditor, and County Engineer conducted seven interviews. We had highly qualified individuals being interviewed with many years of experience, and we collectively selected Terry Purvis and Taylor House as the two new Foremen. Terry will supervise the west side of Tama County and Taylor will supervise the east side, with M Ave. being the dividing line. Any possible overlap of sheds/territories will be given to only one Foreman, so no employee has two Foremen to report to. Both Foremen will start on January 5, 2026. Terry is currently a Motor Grader Operator for Tama County and Taylor is currently a Motor Grader Operator in Linn Co., as well as has leadership experience in the military. The organizational structure for the Engineer’s Department is still being finalized and will have open positions soon to be posted online. A goal we have is to implement job performance reviews for employees.

A 28E Agreement was signed with the City of Toledo for the Bandstand. It is owned by the city but located on County Courthouse property, so the 28E discusses insurance, renting, and how the two parties will work together on future improvements and any liabilities that may arise. The Bandstand underwent recent improvements and now looks great.

Union Grove Lake has had a nuisance property for several years and our County Sanitarian has been working on the situation. The previous agreement was for a neighbor to mow the property and control weeds, and the Sanitarian had received three bids before selecting this person. The County would then reimburse that individual for their expense and the owner of the nuisance property would be assessed that amount, added to and paid with their property tax bill. The concern was that no contract was in place previously. I agree that moving forward we do need to have a contract in place, but in this case the neighbor had already performed the work and expected payment. The bill was approved for payment by the majority of the board to reimburse the neighbor.

The Phase 1 wind turbines became operational in December with the blades spinning and lights flashing. I’m sure most of my district has noticed them already, as they can be seen for miles. I know there is excitement for some landowners and frustration for others that live around them. It was not my desire for Tama County, but decisions elected officials make when in office can have an effect on generations to come. That is why I ask questions, do my research, talk to people, be transparent, and ensure I make the best decision while I am your County Supervisor. The County did receive the negotiated $1.2M in payments from NextEra, and this money will bridge the gap in the General Basic Fund that we faced when we came into office one year ago. The Road Use Agreement is still in place and will remain so until the Engineer and Supervisors agree to release the roads fully.

If you live in or around Gladbrook, you may have noticed that the red lights are not flashing on the Vienna Wind Farm. The ADLS (Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems) has been implemented in Marshall and Tama Counties for this wind farm. This means the red lights will only light up when an aircraft approaches the wind project area. I suggested that this technology be implemented during the re-powering public hearing with Mid-American Energy.

I look forward to 2026 and the continued improvements to be made in Tama County! As usual, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer), the first elected female supervisor in Tama County history, represents District 3, including the townships of Spring Creek, Crystal, Perry, and parts of far northern Carlton (excluding Garwin) and Howard. She can be reached at 641-481-2532 or hknebel@tamacounty.org.