“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

Durham said Webster City was living up to Drucker’s advice in investing nearly $250,000 to certify land in Gateway.

“This is one of the most important investments a community can make,” she said.

She cited Gateway as the first site in Iowa to benefit from the Iowa Rural Certified Site Initiative, passed by the legislature in 2024. Created to attract investment and good jobs to counties of less than 50,000 population, the measure helps level the playing field with larger cities.

Photo by Robert E. Oliver
Adding to a special occasion were specially-baked and decorated cookies commemorating the opening of the new industrial park.

“It’s a great day for Webster City,” Councilman John Marvel said. “We’re able to compete for quality jobs and prosperity.”

Using one of his signature sayings, he admonished those in attendance to “imagine a great city.”

Dan Culhane, CEO, Ames Regional Economic Alliance, cited a crucial advantage certified sites bring to a city seeking new employers.

“It’s about speed-to-market, something many firms are seeking today,” he said.

Culhane said the sheer size of plots available in Gateway make this industrial park unique.

“The amount of land here separates Webster City from other cities.”

Indeed, with 478 acres, Gateway is among the largest parcels of certified, developable land in Iowa. Mills Crossing Mega Site, Glenwood, is the largest, with 1,641 certified acres. Others, similar in size to Gateway, include Lincolnway Industrial Rail & Air Park in Clinton with 596 acres and the Cedar Rapids Land & Air Super Park at 582 acres. Closer to home, Hardin County Industrial Rail Site in Iowa Falls, checks in with 245 certified acres.

It took just over a year for all this to happen. On Feb. 17, 2025, the city made a surprise announcement, confirming it had commitments from local landowners to sell nearly 600 acres near the intersection of Iowa Highway 17 and U.S. Highway 20 for future development. This amounted to a more than 10-fold increase in the then 40-acre industrial park on the southeast side.

Only 14 months later, on April 9, 2026, certification of 478 of those acres was completed. Certification gives developers confidence their projects can move quickly ahead as certified sites meet high standards for infrastructure, utilities, and shovel-readiness.

Durham reminded attendees of the importance of community development in concert with economic development.

“Remember,” she said, “we need to create places people want to live.”

Many initiatives designed to do just that are already moving forward in Webster City, including new single-family and multiple-unit housing, downtown revitalization, and upgrading of the city’s wastewater, water treatment and electrical utilities.

On-the-horizon, plans for a much-improved Webster City High School will underscore the city’s long-standing commitment to education.

Durham concluded her remarks, saying,

“We’ll always be here to help,” citing IEDA’s previous grants to aid restoration of The Elks at 608 Second St., the former Bettis Appliance store, and with a $2.6 million grant that helped bring Edible Garden to the former Natural Shrimp Building. “What I see here in Webster City, is a community investing in itself.”