Citizen of the Year

RICEVILLE - To be honored for the Times Plain Dealer’s Citizen of the Year, a person has to make a lasting impact on the area and demonstrate a high moral standard. 

Many people have those characteristics, and the judges had a hard time choosing a winner out of many notable candidates. This year, the nomination of Elaine Govern kept floating to the top of the list.

Every town needs a person like Govern, one who has a vision and convinces others to embrace that vision and run with it.

She has been the force behind several projects in Riceville that have brought tourism dollars to the area. And she has done that while holding down a teaching job, real estate business (Govern Farms and Homes) and raising three children.

One of the unwritten rules of owning a business is giving back to the community. The most successful towns have a large number of business owners who have learned if the community and its projects are successful, then the businesses will follow, and vice-versa.

Govern learned this when she came to Riceville in 1965, from New Hampton, by way of University of Northern Iowa (where she was elected president of the women’s student body), Waterloo, Iowa (Columbus High School teacher), LaHabra, Calif. (librarian), back to Iowa to get married and teach and then back to California.

Her final stop was Riceville where both she and Pete  got teaching jobs in town.

 “At that time, Woodland Avenue was a dirt road, and the high school was in terrible shape. Pete said we’d stay a year. But the kids were good, and it was a great place to raise a family.” So they stayed and raised their own children, Shawn, Christopher and Juliet.

 

 Visionaries

Both Pete and Elaine were visionaries, not just for Riceville but for all of Howard County.

Pete was President of Howard County Economic Development for several years. “He went out and asked businesses for $1,000 each to start Featherlite at Davis Corner.” She supported him in his endeavors and he in hers.

 

First Freedom

Sometimes it takes an outsider to notice something is amiss.

That’s what Elaine did. She took four-year-old Shawn to the library, located in an old block building. For story hour, a blanket was laid down for the kids to sit on the concrete floor.

She decided to do something about that. 

If nothing else, Elaine is persistent. It took her 10 years of writing grants, organizing fund-raisers and finding volunteer construction labor to build the current library. 

She went through the steps of establishing a 501c3 non-profit, The First Freedom, Inc. In addition, an endowment fund was established to support the physical complex of the library itself.

The entire project was done without tax dollars and continues to be physically maintained that way.

There were some who expected her to fail, but those same folks praised her when she pulled it off.

 

WGWL

As if a 10-year (and more) project was not enough, Elaine read an article in the early to mid-1980s in the Des Moines Register. “It was after church, and I was listening to polka music and reading the paper,” she recalled.

She learned the Dept. of Transportation had done a $480,000 study on where the best places were to build a walk/bike trail. “They picked abandoned railroad beds, river corridors and scenic corridors. I thought, ‘That’s us!’” 

The last train went through the area in 1980. She went to Milt Owen, Mitchell County Conservation Director with the idea, telling him, “I think this fits us.” Years later he told her he didn’t think she was going to get far. She has certainly proven him wrong!

The Wapsi – Great Western Line Trail consists of 26 miles from Elma to the state line, nearly all is hard surface.

It took over 40 purchases of property to get the trail to where it is today. Elaine told her friends, and they pitched in to help pay back taxes. The group then turned it back over to the county.

A few years ago, the WGWL trail was touted as a $6.4 million asset to both Howard and Mitchell counties. Much of money was raised locally, along with many grants written by Govern.

It has been a 40-year long journey for those 26 miles. Elaine half-joked, “If I knew it was going to be that long, I don’t know if I could have done it.”

The Citizen of the Year says there were many individuals who have helped or been an inspiration to Elaine. Lloyd Jenison moved into town. He would walk with his cane to the edge of the where the trail is located today. He just stood there and listened to the birds. That’s what the trail is about . . . communing with nature.

Zelda Wolf remembered the flowers along the trail. She was nearly blind but cut out flowers from cards and made new ones, selling them for the trail.

Another lady made pillows with profits going to the trail.

“This recognition should be for them,” Elaine said.

 

More volunteerism

In the 1980s, Tomorrows Leaders Today was a new idea. It was formed to get leaders of area towns to work together for the betterment of the county and to find ways to give back to their own communities. 

Seeing the need to get involved, Elaine jumped in feet first.

She helped establish Riceville Legacy Endowment, a school endowment fund for math, social studies and English departments, which in the past had been taught by husband, Pete; son, Chris, and Elaine.

She is a member of Holy Rosary Cluster and has taught religion classes and served on the Social Justice Committee.

She has also served with Riceville Community Club; Riceville Area Economic Development; Howard County Economic Development supporter; Kellogg’s Food & Fitness Initiative for northeast Iowa for 10 years; Howard County Community Foundation Board; Northeast Iowa Funders Network for 10 years; Riceville Safe Routes to School chairman for eight years; Upper Iowa Explorerland Enhancement Committee for 20 years; Former Howard County Tourism Committee for six years; Riceville WA TAN YE, serving as its national president; chairman of the WA TAN YE’s preservation of the Buresh one-room school for 50 years; Fine Arts Council of Mitchell County; chairman of the construction of the Wildcat [fitness] Trail; Southern Minnesota Area Recreational Trails Committee; and Farmer’s Market manager at Riceville for Howard County Economic Development’s Farmer’s Market program.

Although she lost Pete in 2000, she continues to run their business. She has enjoyed seeing some of her former students’ children purchasing homes from her in their hometown.

She also is proud of her eight grandchildren.

Elaine has led a very busy life, with her job and family. But she has always stepped up to share her talents, persistance and caring spirit to make her little part of the world a better place. Thank you, Elaine.