It’s the hope that our community will reinvest in itself. It’s the hope that our business community will create a succession plan. It’s hope that our children will have fond memories of growing up here.

The promises are the ones we all have to help keep.

We have to promise to show the respect for the people who have tried to take care of their buildings, run their businesses and raise their families.

We have to promise to support the businesses here in the town where we live.

Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Kolleen Taylor
The view down the 600 block of Second Street, even in the dead of winter, is scenic, and inviting. Nearly 20 businesses operate in this one block, offering clothing, home decor, jewelry, food and much more.

We have to help keep things clean, to pick up litter, to make things look nice where we live.

We have to promise to show our children that a small town in Iowa is a good place.

And we have to promise Webster City that we will help.

Downtown Webster City still has days where the hustle and bustle is fun and exciting. It’s when the women gather to shop, and laugh and enjoy the companionship you find in a small town where you know so many people. It might be an event like Ladies Night Out, or Market Nights or JunqueFest.

The landscaping and sidewalk work that was completed 25 years ago is holding up fairly well. The trees branching over the sidewalks provide shade and enhance the relaxed stroll along main street.

Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Kolleen Taylor
The First State Bank has expanded with predominantly a brick facade, which nods to the historical district that is predominantly built with brick. The beauty of the new brick, or properly restored brick is undeniable.

A little maintenance, a little paint, a lot of elbow grease, spring flowers, trees greening, and the downtown will brighten up in just a few short months.

There is a lot of life in the downtown district. It has changed over the years, but what town hasn’t seen change?

The nostalgia we feel from those who remember the 1940s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s has to just be that — Good memories.

We need to think about it differently. We need to look to the future.

What would our downtown be if it wasn’t full of these buildings, these businesses. From the 400 block of Second Street to the 800 block, those four blocks are full of businesses that are industrious and personable. If you walk a block north or south on any of the intersections, you’ve got even more with coffee and ice cream, specialty items, artistry and home decor.

Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Kolleen Taylor
Mornin’ Glory, and Brick and Bloom both sit just south of Second Street, an easy stroll for the central business district.

We essentially have four districts in our downtown area. Each district is only about a block long, but they are here. Webster City has a financial district, a service district, a retail district and an artisan district. They are not well-defined, and you might argue that the area is not large, but it is defining.

But it takes wandering into the businesses themselves that really shows off the strength of the downtown district. People who are enthused and happy, people who care and want to make a difference. People who have invested into the city where they live and work.

Webster City is on the upswing, with remodeling and repairs happening throughout the community. New stores are getting ready to open, new life brought into old buildings, new product into the stores. Everyone can help spruce up Webster City.

Elsewhere in this Progress edition we focus on some of the big stories; change of ownership, the additional businesses, the move of the distillery and the renovation of The Elks.

But there are more stories. There are innovators, and hard working families taking a risk, managing businesses and hiring people to energize the community.

Take a look, talk to a local business owner. And think about how you and your family can be part of their story.