CONRAD — Iowa Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer and Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham got an up close and personal look at one of the five new homes currently under construction on Farmer Drive in Conrad Wednesday afternoon during a tour led by Origin Homes Director of Operations Matt Daniels.

The special guests also got a chance to see the rest of the community and interact with Mayor Jeff Martin, City Clerk Lori Stansberry, Chamber/Main Street Director Heather Wilson and, during a sitdown summit at the public library, a group of local business owners to discuss the progress they witnessed in Conrad (pop. 1,098 as of 2024) and how it can be applied to a larger growth strategy for rural areas across Iowa. When Origin broke ground on the five spec homes, which received nearly $200,000 in state tax credits administered through the IEDA, back in June, one of the lots was already spoken for, and another sale is now in progress to a family relocating from Marshalltown. The remaining three are still available, and Daniels predicted that the first home, which was sold to Megan and Tyler Yantis, will be prepared for occupancy by the end of October.

Daniels gave participants in the tour a chance to walk through the future Yantis home and also spoke about successes they’ve had in other rural communities like Knoxville, where nine of the 10 spec houses Origin constructed have sold in a short time frame. He touted the strong trades base they’ve been working to cultivate in areas where they build homes, and Durham commended the company for its attention to “the little details” throughout the construction process.

“It’s going well, and we’re excited to keep doing it,” Daniels said.

Origin, he added, is also working on a custom build project in nearby Union, which is convenient considering its proximity to Conrad. During an interview before the library meeting, both Cournoyer, who was visiting for the first time, and Durham praised the city’s leaders and business owners for their forward thinking approaches to growth and development.

“They’ve got a lot of great community leaders including the mayor and his really engaged city council, and it looks like they’re really putting a lot of good thought into strategic planning and meeting the needs of the community,” Cournoyer said. “It’s a lovely town. Just driving around, there’s a lot of amenities, and it seems like they’re always looking for new ways to innovate and bring new residents to the town and provide great services to the community. And they’re also utilizing resources at the state, local and federal levels as well, which is also a smart thing to do.”

Durham said both Cournoyer and Gov. Kim Reynolds have “a heart for rural Iowa” and noted that a large portion of the IEDA’s programming goes toward rural communities like Conrad.

“I have to tell you, since the last time I was here, I think my first impression is ‘Wow.’ So much construction from your schools to your roads, your infrastructure, as the Lt. Governor said, but the number of housing starts you have (is impressive),” Durham said. “And I also think it’s really the pride of the community. You have a lovely downtown. This library — sometimes people say, ‘Why do we still do libraries?’ Well here’s the exact reason why we do libraries: it’s not just the libraries. It’s the programming that happens here, the community development. So I have to say I’m really impressed.”

Durham added that Conrad has not yet utilized a Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) or Destination Iowa grant, but she hoped that would change in the future.

“There are some programs here that we think can enhance what’s already being done, but again, my compliments to the local leadership and the businesses. Everybody seems to be pulling in the right direction,” she said. “At the end of the day, it really is about local leadership. The state can’t come in and do, really, anything. We’re here to simply partner once they set their vision.”

Martin, who has served as mayor for over a decade, was excited to showcase the progress and developments, and he hoped to learn more about potential grants during the meeting at the library to enhance the city’s offerings even further.

“Our hands are pretty full right now, but we’ve always got a lot of ideas. You know, Conrad’s a real progressive town, and we always have lots of ideas on what we want to do to go forward and keep ahead of the curve,” he said.

Cournoyer concluded that Conrad is doing “a great job” of doing what it takes to make rural Iowa a great place to live, work, play and raise a family through its school system and amenities like the Comet Trail for all ages.

“It’s really going in the right direction to keep rural Iowa vibrant,” she said.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.