Neat Creature Creative Co.

03/25/2026

I'm not an Ottumwa resident (we live just outside of city limits), and I'm not from around here originally, but these programs and people have had an incredible impact on my family and our roots here. Neat Creature Creative Co. was nurtured and expanded by Business Builder Academy and Main Street Ottumwa. I grew to love the business community here and have become a loud and proud supporter of every new person taking a chance here. My clients and the causes close to my heart are invested in Ottumwa’s flourishing, and I am too.

The people leading these programs are some of Ottumwa’s brightest optimists and creative minds. They build their skills and networks for the benefit of our community. They put their passion to work to tell a better story about Ottumwa to attract visitors, investors, opportunities and employers. They are worth that investment.

I’ve written to our city council and signed this petition of support. I encourage you to do the same.

First of all, in less than a day, more than 125 of you went to our website and signed on to show your support! We can't thank you enough for the enormous support we saw yesterday!💜

With 2026 being Main Street Ottumwa's 20th year, we expected to spend the year telling our story and celebrating the successes we had over the last 20 years. We didn't expect we'd be telling with the existence of our program on the chopping block. But nevertheless, let's talk about taxable value and what Main Street really means for your property tax bill.

📈Downtown valuations

When our program started in 2006, Downtown Ottumwa had hit rock bottom. Taking just the 100-300 blocks, what was once the vibrant commercial heart of Ottumwa had a total valuation of less than $2.5 million. That meant that downtowns contributions to the City's budget were negligible and ordinary property owners were responsible for a larger share of services. We set out to change that.

In the last 20 years, we've leveraged every creative approach and tens of thousands of volunteer hours to raise millions of dollars in grant funding, train and equip entrepreneurs, provide design services to property owners and beautify our downtown. That sweat and effort paid off. Taking those three blocks, valuation has quadrupled to more than $10 million.

💲What this means for you

That increase comes from 284 building projects including 122 new apartment units. It comes from 93 new businesses employing 316 new employees. That means downtown is generating not just property tax revenue but building permit fees, rental permit fees, local option sales tax and more. Every dollar the City invests in our program is multiplied and returned. Period.

👉That's why we need your support. Please use the link below to sign up and show that you support keeping funding for Main Street Ottumwa in this year's City budget. More than that, if you're able, we'd love to have you show up and support Main Street in person at tonight's City Council budget work session.

03/24/2026

Hi.

The world's a mess right now. We've forgotten how to be neighbors. We've forgotten how to cheer on when someone else is thriving, even if we don't agree on everything. We've forgotten how to want the best for one another. We've forgotten that how we use our words and our pocketbooks says something about us, and it matters.

The world is uncertain. The internet is volatile. With AI and algorithms, it's hard to know what's real right now.

We can't be assured our government isn't going to use our tax money for genocide, war, trafficking, ballrooms, and crypto scams, vs. funding the healthcare we need, the libraries we love, or saving people literally dying of preventable diseases, mental health issues, or malnutrition - here and around the world.

We can't be assured that Amazon or X or Open AI won’t use the money we pay them and make software and robots to do all the jobs, and use all the data that uses up all the water, power and land resources in our communities, and leave nothing left for the humans who live here.

The only way out of it that I can see? Relentlessly choose small business and local community. Shake hands with your mechanic. Cheer on your kid's friends in the community play or the school sport. Pack the food boxes that go to your neighbors. Choose to partner with businesses you can sit across the table from, who want success and opportunity for the place you both live, because they're invested in it. Take every opportunity to find out what skills, gifts and passion exist here, and then find out how you can support it.

THIS is how I believe a return to community is going to save the world.

And this is why understanding how to support real people doing real things in your community is so important. This is why local government matters too. Because they're helping shape what opportunities are available to you too. Who is taking care of your parks? Who is telling your community's story, bringing in new investments, building new businesses, attract good doctors and teachers to keep kids and families healthy and help them grow and thrive here? Who's volunteering on the rural fire department or EMS to protect what you love? Support them.

This is how we grow and thrive. Invest in the people who are telling a better story, and who are choosing to offer that for good.