Charles City community perks up with positive updates with their coffee

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com
The community was invited to hear the latest in community developments on Wednesday, Sept. 18, as the Chamber of Commerce hosted a Coffee & Conversation get together.
Sponsored by Floyd County Extension, the quarterly meeting was notable for being the first event to be held in the Extension Office’s new meeting space, which has been under renovations since June.
The new space will be used to give more flexibility for Extension programming, from tax assistance for low-income filers to pesticide training for farmers.
With coffee and cookies out for grabs, area organizations took turns offering updates on their various activities.
Shanda Hansen, representing the Floyd County Community Foundation, talked about the current application window for groups looking for grants.
“It’s nice to see so many non-profits coming around in the county,” said Hansen.
From Floyd County Medical Center, CEO Dawnett Willis talked about the hospital’s expansion project, which recently started construction on a new clinic addition, pharmacy and major renovations to the facility.
“Come spring of ’26 it will look a whole lot different,” said Willis.
The $40 million project is a huge endeavor for the hospital, but won’t be the end of FCMC’s improvements. While the hospital remains entrenched in a legal battle with Mayo Clinic over funds that would facilitate a cancer treatment center, other expansion plans are being looked at for areas like the OB-Gyn and ER.
“There will be construction out at the hospital for many years to come,” said Willis.
The summer has been equally eventful for the city of Charles City, as City Administrator Steve Diers ran down a list of projects happening in town. The Main Street rehabilitation, adding on to the Charley Western Trail, extension of 13th Avenue, pool renovations and a new housing development are just some of those things.
“This has been one of our big project years,” said Diers.
Finally, from the Chamber itself, Community Development Director Mark Wicks noted that the second year of the chamber’s leadership program started on Thursday, providing a new wave of community members hoped to become leaders and volunteers.
Holiday events are also coming up, with SpookWalk on Monday, Oct. 28.
Even further down the calendar, Wicks announced that Santa’s sleigh rides will be returning this Christmas, expanded into a two-night event.
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