New GLENWOOD Sign Welcomes Highway 34 Motorists To City
Some of the people involved in the GLENWOOD sign project on Highway 34 posed for a photo with the sign last week. From left: Chloe Hammers, Amber McClary, Glenwood Mayor Angie Winquist, Michelle Grassau, Brian Manning and Maddie Mulder of FastSigns, Jennie Davis (former Mills County Chamber Of Commerce Executive Director) and Earl Nosekabel and Joe Martin of Leick Construction.
Nearly two years in the making, a big bold GLENWOOD sign now greets eastbound Highway 34 motorists as they approach the exit ramp to the city.
The 6-foot tall by 30-foot wide limestone-based sign was installed last month. The word “GLENWOOD” is in black lettering and solar-powered “halo” lighting behind the letters lights the sign up during darkness.
The sign project was spearheaded by graduates of the Mills County Chamber of Commerce’s leadership program. Michelle Grassau, Amber McClary, Chloe Hammers and Kelsi Leininger worked behind the scenes to make the sign become a reality after first approaching the Glenwood City Council with their idea in February 2023.
“When you’re looking from the top of the hill, it’s just a natural and beautiful place for the sign,” Grassau told city council members that night. “You’ve got the valley you’re seeing down behind and the trees kind of around it.”
Once the sign project was given the green light by the city council, the group’s work began. The first step in the process was having the site surveyed by the Iowa Department of Transportation and getting permission to put the sign on state right of way. Permission was given and an agreement was reached to turn ownership of the sign over to the City of Glenwood once installed.
Next came fundraising for the project, the City Of Glenwood and Mills County both agreed to contribute $5,000 but the project ended up carrying a total price tag of nearly $46,000. Leick Construction and Ebemeier Engineering contributed in-kind services and expertise to the project and the remaining dollars came from several sources - Iowa West Foundation ($15,000), Community Foundations Of Southwest Iowa ($10,000), Glenwood State Bank ($5,000), MidAmerican Energy ($2,500) and Glenwood RAGBRAI 2024 ($490).
“It was a huge undertaking,” Grassau said during an interview last summer after all funding had been secured. “It was my first time doing something like this with the city and the county. It was a huge learning experience for me, so I’m glad that I was able to be part of the chamber leadership and going through the process, see it to the end.”
Last Thursday, several individuals who had a role in the project posed for photos next to the sign.