For the first time since 2012, Marshalltown is set to host Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) riders this year as an overnight stop on Wednesday, July 22. Of course, such a herculean task requires a strong team to coordinate planning efforts and ensure that the community is prepared for the big day, and Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO John Hall and local marketing professional Kyley Leger have stepped up to the plate to serve as co-chairs of Marshalltown RAGBRAI.

During an interview earlier this week, Hall told the T-R he knew the Chamber would be playing an integral role from the moment Marshalltown was announced as an overnight stop, and he was able to flex into the position while still managing the organization’s day-to-day economic development and tourism promotion efforts.

Leger, who previously served as a United Way fundraising campaign co-chair and led the Vision Marshalltown organization, was the first and last name that came to mind as a potential co-chair for Hall, and she was happy to come onboard.

“I was excited to say yes to co-chairing because I am a RAGBRAI rider. I love marketing and I love planning events, and I love the community,” she said.

Planning for RAGBRAI, as previously noted, is a massive task, but Hall did note that the RAGBRAI staff does provide a host of wraparound services and a guidebook to navigating the 20 or so weeks leading up to the actual event.

“A lot of it (so far) has been behind the scenes work, so I think a lot of folks are really anxious and hungry for information, but a lot of is just setting up the structure of volunteers and committees and all of these pieces so that the execution is not overwhelming for one individual but is kind of spread amongst an entire 18 committees that we’ve got on top of our executive committee, our finance committee and our advisory board,” he said. “It’s a lot of different folks sitting in different seats based on expertise, and so a lot of it’s just been trying to set that structure up and preparing for all of the things that we need to do to execute on it.”

A website is set to be launched next week with more information about the individual committees and volunteer needs, and a portal already exists on the Chamber website (marshalltown.org/ragbrai) with sign-up forms for vendors, volunteers, housing requests and housing assistance. The guidebook specifically calls for 807 volunteers on the day of the ride.

“We need folks that are willing to serve on these committees to help us put all the plans together,” Hall said.

Some of the committees like public safety and electrical will only be comprised of people with technical and professional expertise in those areas, but for others like housing, campgrounds, charters, showers and sanitation, hospitality, signage and maps, information center, food and non-food, beverage garden and entertainment and special events, volunteers are still being actively recruited.

“The nice thing about all the committees is RAGBRAI, again, provides a timeline and checklist of all the things that need to happen, so for every single committee, it tells us exactly what we need to be handling during which month to be ready to go when that time comes,” Hall said. “It’s not flying blind. It’s pretty structured but just needs folks that are passionate about volunteering on behalf of the community and welcoming somewhere between 30 and 45,000 folks to Marshalltown.”

The entertainment will all be centrally located in the downtown area with musical acts set to be announced soon along with food vendors, RAGBRAI vendors and the beverage garden. Main Street will already be closed from 1st Avenue east to 3rd Avenue as part of the ongoing reconstruction project.

While plenty of work remains to be done, both co-chairs stand ready and excited to highlight the progress in town since the 2018 tornado and 2020 derecho.

“I am very excited to showcase how our community has rebounded after the last five years. RAGBRAI has been here as an overnight stop twice before, and I think there’s a lot of riders who continue to do the ride. So there’s gonna be a lot of people that come back to the community, and it’s really exciting that they’re just gonna walk into a whole different community,” Leger said. “Fourteen years is a long time to not be here, and we’re just set up to really showcase our community.”

Hall pointed to the economic and tourism impact of the massive annual ride, and he’s equally ready to show riders what Marshalltown has to offer.

“It’s no surprise that RAGBRAI, for America’s 250th, is coming through Marshalltown and recognizing that we’re the home to the Iowa Veterans Home. We are the Red, White and Blue Capital of Iowa, and we intend to elevate and celebrate that during their visit here,” he said. “It’s a giant party to celebrate everything going on. And you know what, it’s gonna be a terrible inconvenience for a lot of people for 24 hours… This is gonna be 24 hours of inconvenience, (but) at the same time, it’s 24 hours of celebration of Marshalltown with 30 to 45,000 new friends. So if everybody comes in with a positive attitude about ‘Let’s just make sure it’s a great celebration,’ it’s gonna be a blast. We’ll be able to look at it and go ‘Man, that was awesome. Let’s do it again the next time we get it,’ but also ‘We all need a break and to kick our feet up for the rest of the summer’ because it’s gonna be a heavy lift. But it’s gonna be fun. It’s just gonna be fun.”

On Friday, the RAGBRAI Marshalltown slogan for 2026 — “All Wheels Welcome” — was officially unveiled along with a promotional video.

“We’re excited to officially share Marshalltown’s RAGBRAI theme and logo with our community – All Wheels Welcome. This theme reflects who we are at our core. Our mission is to make sure all riders, drivers, and you as community members enjoy the Marshalltown RAGBRAI experience. As a diverse and welcoming community, we’re proud to showcase a wide variety of food, entertainment, and people when riders roll into town,” the RAGBRAI Marshalltown Marketing Committee wrote in a press release. “As we prepare for this incredible event, we encourage you to help us spread the word and be part of creating an unforgettable experience. Whether you’re volunteering, hosting, supporting local events, or simply showing up with a welcoming spirit, every effort makes a difference. Thank you for being part of what makes Marshalltown so special – we truly mean it when we say, All Wheels Welcome.”

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

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.