Letter to the Editor

A little over a year ago I went to our town council meeting to ask them to save the historic variety store building on Main Street instead of tearing it down.

Here’s what I knew going into that meeting. Our town once had an absolutely gorgeous, thriving, historic Main Street. Not many of these buildings remain, but we have to do everything we can to save the ones that do. They are literally a lifeline to our town’s future. Some say we cannot afford to keep these buildings, but I say we can’t afford to lose them.

My offer was this: I would start a community foundation to raise funds to help with these bigger downtown revitalization projects if they would agree to partner with me. They voted unanimously to partner. 

Since that time, the Odebolt Community Foundation was established, we hosted our first annual farm-to-table dinner and raised over $75k, and we recently hired a structural engineer to assess the building and help us make a plan to move forward! 

Additionally, our city worked hard to get ownership of this building over the past year and was able to get three liens forgiven. They took ownership last month, which means we can now start applying for grants. The momentum is building and we’re just getting started!

Here’s the reality. Yes, we have buildings that are in desperate need of repair/upkeep. Yes, we only have the remains of what was once an incredible historic Main Street. Yes, these projects are going to require a lot of time and money. This is all very true.

But you want to know what else I see when I look at these buildings? I see opportunity. I see multiple buildings that can be a great location for new businesses. I see remaining pieces of our history where we have the chance to preserve, restore, and bring new life. I see a place where small town dreams are waiting to happen.

We just announced the Odebolt Revival Grant, where we’re offering three $1,000 grants to projects that support the vision of the Odebolt Community Foundation — with a focus on new business, historic Main Street preservation and beautification, and making our community attractive to young people, our seniors, and all families. We are accepting applications through January 1, and recipients will be announced later next month. The details for the grants, along with our Save Our Main Street project, can be found at odeboltcommunityfoundation.org.

As a foundation we continue to look for ways we can expand our impact as more funds come in. This is a massive project and will need the involvement of the community at large. And together, we’re gonna do it!

We appreciate all of your support as we keep this momentum going!

Danna Larson
Odebolt Community Foundation