Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer).

January 2026 has come and gone and cold temperatures are here, per normal Iowa weather.

The Supervisors had our organizational meeting to start off the year, and I will continue to serve as Vice-Chair. The Boards I will represent for Tama County are the following: Tama County Economic Development, Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce Board member, Tama County Daycare (DBA Kids Corner Daycare, Inc.), DECAT Executive Board (DHS), Heartland Insurance Risk Pool Trustee, South Central Workforce Development CEO, and Eastern Iowa Workforce Development Area CEO.

We recently filled the vacant Tama County Conservations Board position, and it was made apparent the term limits had not been “1 person per year” as they should be per Iowa Code. I worked to get that corrected, and the Board of Supervisors approved the change. The Tama County Compensation Commission for Condemnation Proceedings had several vacancies, and I worked to get enough of the vacancies filled so we now meet the minimum requirement. I’m excited to begin my second year as County Supervisor!

The Board of Supervisors met with the Tama County Engineer, Road Foremen, Shop Foreman, and Secretary to ensure everyone was “on the same page” moving forward with the new structure this year. We had a great discussion on several topics. There are and will continue to be some secondary road positions, as there are generally personnel changes among positions. You can find any open jobs on the Tama County, IA website under the “Employment” tab. We were informed in January that the Tama County Engineer, Ben Daleske, is resigning effective February 16, 2026. I wish Ben the best in his new role. This open County Engineer position is now posted on the website. We may likely share this position with another county for the interim if an individual is not hired before Ben’s departure. The DOT doesn’t allow much to be done in this realm without a certified County Engineer.

The South Tama Superintendent met with the Board of Supervisors to discuss the future of the previous South Tama Middle School. There is interest in determining if the County would possibly purchase the Middle School and renovate it into a Jail/Dispatch, and maybe include other departments as well. I’m open to reviewing and evaluating new ideas to determine if they could save taxpayer money. The Supervisors will tour the Middle School in early February along with Maintenance staff and Sheriff Schmidt to determine if the building would meet code for the jail as well as evaluating the condition of the foundation. After that meeting I believe an architect should review the facility before any decisions are made. I’m not an expert in building structures and jail requirements, so obtaining ideas and collaboration from others is vital in making the right decision.

Tama County owns 121 acres of cropland and 10 acres of pasture near the Tama County Landfill and Secondary Roads County Shed that has always been rented out. We had advertised in late 2025 for a sealed bid process for 3-year lease agreements, and received bids to lease the land, which were made public at our January 12, 2026 Supervisor meeting. After the bids were reviewed there was discussion by some Board members to decline the bids and instead offer the land for sale. As a farmer, I believe farmland is an asset worth retaining for the income as well as potential future projects. Once it’s sold, it’s gone forever and would be expensive to buy back at some later date. We decided to decline the 3-year bids and advertise instead for 1-year contracts, which will be opened on Feb. 2. I know this isn’t ideal for those submitting bids, but it’s where we ended up in agreement at that meeting. I’ve talked to several farmers since that meeting, and most believe as I do that it’s better to retain ownership of the farmland. The county realizes decent income each year from the rent, and I question if now is the best time to sell farmland when the farm economy currently has so many challenges. Going forward I believe a 2-year contract would be a happy medium if the Board decides to retain the land.

County budgets are currently being developed. The Supervisors have met with all but 3 departments so far to discuss their budgets. We currently have no raises included in budgets, but Union negotiations are not yet completed. In regard to elected officials and employees, we are waiting to see how these budgets all come together before deciding on raises. David Turner and I met with the Marshall County IT Director who put together a packet of wage comparisons between Tama County and other Iowa counties. We will discuss these findings at a later public meeting once we finalize how to handle the possibility of wage increases for next fiscal year. In my next column, I should be able to include progress made on the budget and levy for each fund. The Board and department heads are working collectively to keep costs down and continue to find more savings than last year.

Tama County became a Home Base Iowa County as #85 in Iowa! It was an honor to be a part of this event and to bring Home Base Iowa to Tama County. Frontlines United will be the contact in Northern Tama County and Trevor Killian in Southern Tama County, to welcome new Veterans into Tama County. The Board of Supervisors implemented relocation incentives of up to $2,500 in assistance towards the purchase of a home in Tama County and up to $1,250 in rental assistance and/or rental deposit assistance for Veterans. I encourage businesses to become HBI friendly. Tama County just hired a Foreman who is a Veteran and has strong leadership skills. Becoming an HBI County was a process that was a long time in the making. In 2018, the prior Board of Supervisors approved a resolution and turned it over to the Economic Development Director. In 2023, Home Based Iowa came into a Board of Supervisors meeting to talk to the previous Board of Supervisors about getting the incentives in place and designation ceremony completed. No action was taken to ensure this happened. Mark Doland realized that Tama County wasn’t a Home Base Iowa County, so he reached out to HBI. He included me and we worked together to get all the requirements completed to become a Home Base Iowa County, including approving a new resolution. Thank you to everyone that helped make this event possible. Governor Kim Reynolds signed off on Tama County becoming HBI and Jamie Norton, Director of Veteran Workforce Services and James Stout, US Army Veteran with Home Base Iowa, provided us with a certificate.

I attended my first monthly Marshalltown Chamber Board meeting at the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce office in Marshalltown. It was a very refreshing and welcoming meeting to be involved in. There were around 20 people gathered in the room and two online. The group was comprised of 75% private business owners from around the county and city, and the remainder were chamber employees, one (1) Marshall County Board of Supervisors, and one (1) staff member from the newspaper. The person hired to head up Tama County Economic Development started on January 26, 2026, with the Chamber. It will likely take a year to get acquainted with community members, businesses, cities, and chambers in Tama County. There will be a signing ceremony on February 10 at 8 a.m. at the State Bank of Toledo Community Room in the Toledo Square location. I will provide the individuals contact information soon or you can reach out to me by phone or email if you need the information sooner.

As usual, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer), the first elected female supervisor in Tama County history, represents District 3, including the townships of Spring Creek, Crystal, Perry, and parts of far northern Carlton (excluding Garwin) and Howard. She can be reached at 641-481-2532 or hknebel@tamacounty.org.