Ottie Maxey

Webster City is the recipient of a $37,500 grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, according to Ottie Maxey, director of Economic Development for the Ames Regional Economic Alliance.

“Two important drivers of prosperity in rural Iowa today are growth in jobs and housing,” Maxey said, “and Webster City is moving forward on both these fronts.”

He’s referring to new housing projects now moving toward ground-breaking, a 214-unit subdivision on Wall Street by Kading Properties of Urbandale, and new single-family and duplex housing in Lynx Development No. 2 promoted by Green Stream Homes of Waukee.

As for job growth, Maxey, who is the de facto point man for Hamilton County and Webster City within the Alliance, is focused on bringing new employment to Webster City’s huge new 600-acre industrial park south of the city.

With that potential employment, he also aims to bring in new residents to fill the new homes.

“We’ll use those funds to pay for certification of our newly-expanded industrial park,” Maxey said.

The full certification project is expected to cost about $220,000.

Previously, the City of Webster City received a $50,000 grant from the IEDA, and $45,000 from Corn Belt Power Cooperative, the city’s supplier of electricity.

“We’re still seeking a further $20,000, from another source with a stake in the industrial park’s success,” Maxey said.

Certification “is now in the final stages,” he said. “Our part of the work is on track to be complete by the end of this month. Then, our certifier, Quest Site Solutions, of Greenville, South Carolina, should complete their work — the formal certification documents — by the end of this year.”

Certification goes a long way toward making a site “shovel-ready” for a company looking for a new location. And it elevates Webster City’s industrial park to an elite group of 22 other fully-certified industrial sites in Iowa.

The result, Maxey said, “will allow us to start 2026 with developable land marketed by IEDA and the Ames Regional Economic Alliance.”

Hamilton County and Webster City joined the Alliance a year ago. Since that time, Maxey has been in Webster City several times a week, on average, forming and working with the Hamilton County Growth Partnership to better position the county and city for growth.