City Operated Facilities Update

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The Ida Grove City Council met last evening to discuss the reopening of City Operated Facilities. It was decided that the facilities shall remain closed to the public at this time. Council will re-evaluate mid-May to see where we stand case-wise to determine if it will be appropriate to open at that time. During the next couple weeks, the City will be working to finalize safety plans and securing PPE for staff prior to opening. On behalf of all City employees, elected officials and the Mayor: we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while we work out the best plan possible while keeping the best interest of everyone in mind.

Ida Grove Library to offer No Contact Pickup

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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ida Grove Library closed our building to the public on March 17, 2020. To minimize the impact that our closure is having on our community, we will begin offering an alternative way to check out materials for patrons who wish to utilize library service while maintaining a minimal risk of exposure for both staff and patrons.

Starting Friday, April 24, 2020, the Ida Grove Library will offer a No Contact Pickup of library materials following these guidelines:

  1. Pickup of items from the library will be held on Fridays from 9:20 am to 3:40 pm, in 20-minute intervals to ensure social distancing guidelines are met and allowing staff to clean and sanitize the pickup location.
  2. To find items, use the library’s online catalog by clicking on the ‘search catalog’ on the library website www.idagrove.lib.ia.us. Please note the title of the item and author when requesting items.
  3. To request your items and schedule a pickup time, call the library at 364-2306 or email [email protected] to schedule a time and provide a list of your requested materials.
  4. Cut off time is 4 pm on Wednesday before the pickup day.
  5. At the scheduled pick up time, items will be located in our new book house at the back entrance of the library allowing you to pick up items without contact with staff or other patrons.
  6. Staff will not be present at the pickup location in order to maintain social distancing guidelines.
  7. Returns will not be accepted at the back door, returns should be placed in the regular book return located at the front entrance of the library to allow staff to follow sanitization guidelines already in place for returned items.

Since the length of our closure is undetermined at this time and we have had many requests from patrons for additional reading materials, implementing this service at this time will allow us to serve our community through these difficult times. Depending upon the future situation and the length of our closure, we will re-evaluate at a later date to determine if we need to increase the number of days we offer the service or if any changes need to be made.

We thank you for your understanding and patience as we try to navigate through the current situation and determine additional ways to serve our community until we can re-open our doors and see you @ your library.

Don’t Forget the Permit!

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With the weather getting nice, we know a lot of you want to get started on home improvement projects and just want to remind everyone that permitting is required as follows:

(1) Building Permits Required. No new construction or alterations to the exterior of buildings, including decks, patios, garages, carports, driveways, and paved (whether concrete or asphalt) parking spots may be made without first obtaining an approved building permit. Applications for building permits may be obtained from the city clerk’s office. A signed application for a building permit shall be returned to the city clerk’s office along with a required fee of $25.00 for each building permit requested. Building permits include all paving projects. The $25.00 permit fee is waived for all paving projects under 100 square feet in size. The building permit must be signed by the contractor or the property owner. The building permit shall not be considered approved until it has been signed by the city clerk, or the city clerk’s designee and either another clerk in the city office, the public works foreman or the public works foreman’s designee. The city clerk may, at his/her discretion, require approval from the planning and zoning chairman or the planning and zoning chairman’s designee.

Please visit the City’s online code at https://idagrove.municipal.codes/ for the full code.  All person’s not adhering to the requirements are subject to municipal infractions.

Permit Application 

Iowa Foundation for Parks and Recreation

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The City of Ida Grove was recently notified of receipt of the 2020 Mini Grant through the Iowa Parks and Recreation Foundation.  The City was awarded $500 to go towards sprucing up the shelter house located at City Park.  The chimney has already been removed and the roof has been patched.  Next steps in the project are to replace rotting boards and re-paint the shelter house.  We look forward to seeing the finished project by late Summer and are grateful for the generosity of the Foundation for the funding assistance.

Trees Please!

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As most of you know, the Ida Grove City Park is full of ash trees, which are subject to the Emerald Ash Borer.  Knowing this, the City applied for the Trees Please! grant through MidAmerican Energy and was recently informed of grant award!  The typical award amount for this grant is $1,000; however, the City of Ida Grove was awarded $2,000 in funding towards the project!  Thank you to MidAmerican Energy and the Trees Please! grant for this wonderful opportunity to plant some new tree species in the City Park!  We look forward to beginning this project!

Paint Iowa Beautiful

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The City of Ida Grove recently applied for a paint grant in order to spruce up the City’s pump house located on Iowa Street.  We are proud to announce that the Paint Iowa Beautiful Foundation has notified the City of award of 6 gallons of paint for the beautification project!  We look forward to getting the project underway as the weather warms up!

Meals On Wheels

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Please see attached pdf regarding meal information for seniors:  Meal Flyer

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt…

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Ida Grove Community Partners has shared this excellent idea to get families outside this weekend and have a little fun!  

Photos of your “Bear Hunt Expedition” can be shared to the Ida Grove Community Partners Facebook page by clicking the following:  Ida Grove Community Partners

We hope you all enjoy and have a great weekend!

Message to the Citizens of Ida Grove

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The City of Ida Grove has received several complaints about suspicious and/or illegal activity going on in Ida Grove.  These complaints have been shared to City Hall, Council Members, and the Mayor by concerned citizens.   The City met with the Sheriff’s Office this week.  We assure you we are working on this issue.  The one thing we all can do is report any illegal or suspicious activity directly to the Sheriff’s Office at 712-364-3146.  We need to get every call documented in real time, not the next day or a week after.  The City and the Sheriff’s Department are working together to resolve this.

Upgrading Ida Grove

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We thought we would spread some cheer today and share with you all the new and exciting things happening in town.  This week, Godbersen-Smith Construction began work on the tennis courts located in City Park.  The finished project will feature 1 tennis court and 2 pickle ball courts.  The upgrade is from a very generous donation from the Godbersen Foundation!

Also happening this week is the beginning of construction work to install the last set of lights at the ball complex by the High School.  A big Thank You to the Ida Grove Kiwanis for their hard work and dedication to get this upgrade completed!

Beat Nebraska!

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As of the most current response rates, Iowa (51.8%) is leading over Nebraska (51.7%) in census responses; but not by much!  Responding to the 2020 census is the perfect way for all the Iowa, Iowa State and UNI fans to come together and BEAT NEBRASKA! visit 2020census.gov to respond today!

As an additional fun fact, the national response rate is 46.2% with Iowa at 51.8% and Ida Grove at 58%  Thank you to all of our citizens who have responded already and are doing their part to help shape Ida Grove’s future!

Happy Census Day!

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Did you know today is Census Day?  Do your part by responding to the Census TODAY.  Keep in mind, April 1 is the designated date used to answer the many expected questions for various living situations.  For example, children born or before April 1, 2020 should be counted during this census.  If you move during 2020, where you slept on the evening of April 1, 2020 is the address you should use when completing the census.

Census workers have delayed door-to-door approaches at this time due to COVID-19, however, in the future, if you don’t want a knock at your door, you can respond to the Census Bureau soon by one of the following options:  visiting: my2020census.gov.   Or by phone: 844-330-2020.  Or by returning your mailer that was sent out to all addresses.

Thank you for your cooperation and support of our community!