Caffeinated community congregates for Coffee and Conversation

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Charles City community leaders met with the public to offer updates on the latest happenings during the Chamber of Commerce’s Coffee and Conversation on Thursday, May 19.

Hosted at Dave’s Restaurant, representatives from the city, the school, Floyd County Medical Center and Floyd County Community Foundation shared the latest about what is going on among their organizations.

Kicking things off with school news, Superintendent Dr. Brian Burnight noted that the summer sports season has begun with Comet baseball and softball games, before sharing the latest developments on plans to renovate the high school building.

Earlier this week the School Board and the high school improvement committee got a look at preliminary plans from FEH Design that will inform how the district will approach a renovation project.

“We walked them around and showed them all the things on the high school that don’t meet the ADA and the code,” said Burnight.

While the school is planning a renovation project, Floyd County Medical Center is deep in the midst of one.

FCMC CEO Dawnett Willis said she was happy to report that the hospital’s diagnostic wing has finished its renovations and all of the hospital’s new scanning technology is up and running.

“That team is really excited to finally have all the construction done in their area,” said Willis.

While the diagnostic team is settling in, the much larger hospital expansion project is still underway, on schedule, under budget and on target for a spring 2026 opening, she said.

Willis also shared recent recognitions achieved by the hospital, including from the Iowa Hospital Association for having more than 70% of the hospital’s board members certified after trustees Viva Boerschel, Ron James and Mary Jo Lacour completed their certification requirements.

“It just shows their commitment to our hospital,” said Willis.

FCMC has also received a five-star rating in patient satisfaction based on patient feedback, and nurse Nicole Thorson has was recently given a DAISY Award, nominated by a patient who Thorson helped through her first birth.

“Nicole was very well deserving of that,” said Willis.

City Administrator Steve Diers reported that two new housing developments are making progress near the Medical Center.

The Collective on 13th, a 40-unit apartment complex, has already broken ground, while Union Place, not to be confused with Union House, is expected to start development of a series of duplexes and other multi-unit buildings next spring.

“This is going to be a project that will add some desperately needed housing to the community,” said Diers.

The housing update sparked a spirited discussion about overall housing needs in the community and speculation on other ongoing projects including the North Grand building and the Hartwood Inn.

Terry Gaumer of the Floyd County Community Foundation passed around a copy of the foundation’s impact report, noting $322,862 in grants awarded in 2024.

The FCCF is making a push with the “5 for the Future” campaign, encouraging locals to allocate 5% of their estates to the foundation in order to keep funds in Iowa.

Finally, Community Development Director Mark Wicks reported on recent and upcoming Chamber and Main Street activities.

Most recently, the community came together in spite of strong winds for the Community Clean-Up on May 15, using the anniversary of the 1968 tornado to encourage people to volunteer their time cleaning streets, parking lots and doing other neighborly activities in the community.

Wicks also noted the recent graduation of this year’s leadership program class, who took it upon themselves to restore baseball field benches as a class project.

Coming up, the first Party in the Park is scheduled for Friday, May 30, and Wicks said he’s hoping for good weather.

In June, Charles City will again be the host for the Iowa Games’ Whitewater Slalom, on Saturday, June 28.

“It is an honor for us to have them and we will make sure to keep that,” said Wicks.

The city’s own Charles City Whitewater Challenge Weekend will take place Friday, June 20, to Sunday, June 22.