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Hotel Motel Tax Grants Boost Library, Recreation, Historic Preservation.
By Robert E. Oliver
"How much is a million dollars?" An answer that rings true today is "not as much as it used to be." What will $34,243 buy in 2026? More than you might think. Last night, the City Council of Webster City agreed with the Hotel Motel Tax Board (HMTB) that amount should be distributed to local organizations.
The money doesn't come from local taxpayers, but from visitors to Webster City. You know how this works. You book a hotel room online, but the bill is higher when you check out. Most cities levy an additional, local tax, used to support worthwhile, often nonprofit, causes. Go to Chicago to see the Cubs, and 19% will be added to your already shocking room rate. The taxes help fund more tourism. We do the same here. On top of Iowa's 5% excise tax levied on all overnight stays, Webster City tacks-on another 7%.
Wow! Kendall Young Library Discovers Marketing
Every visitor to Webster City needs to see the historic and beautiful library left to us through the philanthropy of Kendall and Jane Young. And more will see it thanks to the library's marketing program, the beneficiary of a $15,250 grant from HMTB.
KYL's marketing has one objective: help locals, and those from out-of-town get the most from the library's collection of print and audio books, DVD movies, board games, toys, WiFi hotspots, or even Chromebooks.
You might already get the weekly email newsletter called Wowbrary. It tells you about events you can attend, and things you can check-out at the library. You're automatically subscribed to it when you register for a library card. If you'd like to sign up for Wowbrary, visit the Kendall Young Library homepage and look for the newsletter sign-up button.
Wowbrary costs KYL $500 a year. Funding from previous grants helped KYL develop its new logo, and pay for digital advertising on Google and Meta platforms. The library's business manager, Ann McLaughlin, says "marketing accounts for a small portion of our budget." That aside, she has big plans for KYL marketing in the future, citing two trends the library can consider tapping with the new marketing grant. "Literary tourism and independent bookstore tours are bringing new people into libraries," she said.
The "Most Midwestern Thing on Earth" at Briggs Woods Lake
What do travelers to the Midwest want? More than water slides at Wisconsin Dells; more than the soaring Gateway Arch in St. Louis; more even than Mt. Rushmore? It's walleye. In 2022, The Washington Post called walleye, "the most midwestern thing on Earth." Airbnb operators rented more rooms when "walleye" appeared in their advertising.
That may help explain why a stalwart group of volunteers have been stocking walleye in Briggs Woods Lake every fall since 2023. Thanks to a Hotel Motel Tax grant of $4,560, they'll do it again this year. Ryan Rupiper of Webster City, a volunteer at Briggs Woods, said, "the walleye sit at the bottom of the south end [of Briggs Woods Lake], where it's 32 feet deep. They gorge on smaller fish all winter. Walleye are stocked at 9-10 inches and fish from the first years' stocking are being caught at 24-27 inches. This has been a successful project for all anglers!"
Finding Your Way at Wilson Brewer Park
The Wilson Brewer Park and Depot Foundation has a mission to tell the history of Hamilton County and Webster City through six historic, preserved buildings, on a beautifully landscaped campus at Superior and Ohio Streets. With five years of guaranteed funding from Hamilton County and the city of Webster City, its board has been making steady improvements to park facilities, holding more family-friendly events, and building an endowment to sustain it into the future.
The museum is open 1-4 pm Friday and Saturday, May to October, so it isn't convenient for everyone to visit. A HMTB grant of $14,433 will help resolve that. According to park board chairman, Ryan Rupiper, the grant will pay for an interpretative sign in front of each building that tells its history. A QR code on each sign enables visitors to see or hear the message on their smart phone, even when the museum is closed.
Part of the grant will also buy new window shades for the depot museum. The old ones, which date from the 1970s, don't block out harmful, bright sunlight that shines into the museum in winter, when the sun is low in the sky. The sun can fade and degrade historic artifacts.