Historical village proposes museum addition to supervisors

In an extensive meeting which marked the first funding requests of the year, five Union County organizations made their pitch to their county supervisors for continued funding into the next fiscal year in July.

Several more funding requests from other county entities will be presented over the coming months. These requests are part of the county’s annual revision of their budget. They will be considered during future budget workshops.

Union County Historical Society

Richard Anderson and Steve Francis of the Union County Historical Society discussed plans for a new building for the Historical Village in McKinley Park. The Historical Building presently holds sixteen buildings, eight of them historic sites.

This new building would function as an updated museum. In a letter to the board of supervisors, Anderson said the society is “desperately in need of more room to display several large collections.” The building will cost $850,000, with $250,000 already funded through donations and board member pledges.

The new two-story museum will house antique cars and other collections donated to the Historical Society. It will connect with the old museum building. Anderson said they hoped to break ground this summer or the next in 2027. Construction will only start once the funds are already raised.

Francis discussed the Historical Society’s new website, www.uchistoricalvillage.com, which exists as a stunning archive of Union County’s landmarks and cities, old and new. Years of research done by Francis and the society is now available online for free.

“I’ve been looking up all these rural church names; it’s these little newspaper blurbs sometimes,” Francis said, describing one section of the website. “I pick up a little information in one article, a little more in another article. Found out a little bit more about those places anyway. There’s over 2,200 images on that website.”

Besides the website, renovations on the church in the Historical Village is planned for an update, with the Historical Society’s goal to keep the historical integrity intact.

Many of the Historical Society’s projects are funded partially from the pockets of board members. Grants and other donations help fund the other portions of projects. The Historical Society’s request to the board of supervisors was open, willing to accept any funds the county could offer.

Southern Iowa Trolley

Through the attendance of Transit Director Leesa Lester, Southern Iowa Trolley requested $19,347 to be used for general operations and purchasing new vehicles and equipment. This is lower than their request last year of $20,044, of which they received $19,356.

The figure was determined using ridership data from fiscal year 2025, or between July 2024 and June 2025. In Union County, SIT totaled 41,998 rides, a decrease of 4,602 from the previous fiscal year.

Lester said the shrinking number comes from being unable to offer service to their sheltered workshop and child transportation services, stemming from a continuing driver shortage.

“We’re in a tough situation,” Lester said. “We need drivers so bad.”

Rides for the elderly and general public increased in fiscal year 2025, which Lester explained as the service proving vital for local residents. For the elderly especially, SIT can be a necessity.

“The elderly depend on us daily for their needs,” Lester said. “Whether it’s to the store or the hospital, to go visit someone, whatever. They ride with us a lot and they’re very appreciative of what we do. That’s what keeps us running. We’ll keep plugging until we can’t plug in no more.”

Additional hardships from vehicles breaking down and being unable to offer services such as child transportation, which helped bolster ridership, has been tough for SIT.

Union County Tourism

The next funding request came from Creston Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Olivia Cheers. With her first year in charge of tourism for the county, Cheers spoke on her goals for expanding tourism advertisements to social media.

Alongside an overhaul of the Union County Tourism website, additional efforts for marketing on social media and partnering with Green Valley and Three Mile Lake were part of Cheers’ goals for the year. Cheers requested $5,000 from the county for continued advertisements.

Union County Tourism uses funds from the county to advertise in various Iowa travel magazines, drawing visitors to the best spots in the county. Advertisements also include a schedule of events for the county highlighting the best times of the year to make a stop.

Cheers will be attending the Iowa Tourism Conference in March as a panelist for “Gen Z Travel Reimagined,” offering advice for how the newest generation in early adulthood is thinking about travel. Social media is a critical goal for updating tourism.

“I think what we’re lagging is the social media presence,” Cheers said. “We put a lot on advertisements in magazines and stuff, but how often are people really looking at that ad? I think pushing it on Facebook and highlighting specific events ... bring people into the county and promoting and advertising that, I think that would really help.”

Reaching out to the eastern side of Union County, specifically citing Watermelon Days in Lorimor, was another goal for Cheers. Using her experience at Union County Development Association, Cheers said she wanted to create a video series similar to “Road Trip Wednesday,” shining light on areas of Union County such as Mount Pisgah and the Mormon Trail.

MATURA Action Corporation

MATURA Executive Director Dana Buls presented the organization’s annual report, focusing on outreach programs across the county. Out of the entire county, 880 households and more than 1,800 individuals were served in the last year.

Through their funding, MATURA programs assist low-income individuals who struggle otherwise. This is done through food pantries, utility and rent assistance, Head Start, health programs and other emergency assistance.

Under the six counties in MATURA’s designated area, Union County has the highest per capita of SNAP users, with 10.9% of the county in November qualifying. This was exasperated by the federal government’s shutdown, showcasing how valuable organizations like MATURA can be.

With additional federal funds uncertain, MATURA’s options to help those in the county could be strained even further.

Wage increases

Renee Hoyt and Drew Henderson of the county compensation board presented their recommendations for county elected officials’ wage increases for the next fiscal year. Supervisors would receive a 4% increase to their wages, the auditor, treasurer, recorder and attorney would receive a 6% increase and sheriff an 8% increase.

“Overall, the [compensation] board believes these increases represent a fair and balanced, fiscally responsible approach, one that acknowledges workload, market comparisons and legislative guidance,” Hoyt said, delivering the compensation board’s message.

The compensation board also created an additional position of the county budget director, filled by Auditor Sandy Hysell, with a salary of $3,500.

Each of these funding requests will be reviewed by the county supervisors and other officials as Union County workshops their budget for next year.

Supervisor Dennis Brown attended Wednesday’s meeting via telephone.