Madison County Development Group

04/18/2026

Great open house in Earlham this afternoon at Madison County Health Care System’s new clinic. This will be a tremendous asset for the community and county moving forward.

04/07/2026

Big thanks to MCDG members OmniTel and Panora Fiber for helping us secure a $3000 Aureon Grant through Iowa Area Development Group! This support is helping drive our strategic plan with UNI Institute for Decision Making (IDM) forward so we can continue growing Madison County.

01/24/2026

All of our electric providers are part of MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator), which manages the regional electric grid (map in comments).
During this unprecedented cold spell from Canada to the Gulf, MISO is actively managing system-wide demand. Winterset is in a strong position, with enough standby generation to serve our community and more, and those resources are fully in use.
While Winterset is well positioned, small reductions in local electric use do help the broader MISO system during periods of extreme demand.

Outdated- reduction request has expired

⚠️ WINTERSET POWER CONSERVATION ALERT ⚠️

Winterset Municipal Utilities has been generating local power since yesterday afternoon at the direction of our electric power cooperative that supplies much of central Iowa.

Although we are generating at full capacity, the regional power grid is struggling to keep up.

Due to extreme winter weather, electricity demand is peaking and supplemental generator power is required.

WMU has the ability to self support the City of Winterset, however we are also obligated to support the regional power cooperative.

If demand continues to exceed supply, rolling blackouts could occur in Winterset and across the region.

We need your help right now:
• Lower thermostats a few degrees — especially homes using electric heat
• Reduce use of space heaters
• Delay laundry, dishwashers, and electric dryers
• Turn off unnecessary lights and electronics
• Avoid using large electric appliances during peak hours

🔥 Heating Safety Reminder:
Use only safe, approved heat sources. Never use ovens, grills, or generators indoors, and keep space heaters clear of anything flammable. Winterset Fire Department

Every small reduction helps protect system reliability for everyone. Thank you for doing your part.

Winterset Police Department
Madison County Sheriff's Office
Madison County Iowa Emergency Management
Winterset Public Library
Winterset Parks and Recreation

12/17/2025

Congratulations to board member Mark Smith on his new role! 🍾

Please join us in welcoming Mark Smith to F&M as our new VP & Trust Officer! We’re proud to welcome Mark to our Trust Department and look forward to the expertise and care he brings to our customers.

06/20/2025

Fun and informative Madison County Chamber of Commerce coffee this morning at Future Flyers of Iowa located at the Winterset Municipal Airport. Future Flyers continues to go from strength to strength, now serving over 120 students with a growing team of instructors, an expanding fleet of aircraft, and a wide range of educational opportunities. We're proud to have them in our community and honored to partner with them.

05/22/2025

Start your Saturday (May 24th) at the John Wayne Birthday Celebration (rain or shine) with a hearty breakfast, live music, and a display of vintage aircraft!

Join from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the Winterset Municipal Airport (3405 N. 8th Ave.) for a morning full of food and fun.
Breakfast is $10 per person.

If you are planning to come to the John Wayne Birthday Celebration in Winterset, Iowa, on May 23 & 24—and what could keep you from such an amazing event—make sure to start it off right with the Breakfast Fly-in at the Winterset Memorial Airport.

No, you don’t actually have to be a pilot or fly in to get breakfast; just bring your appetite and some John Wayne attitude. Along with a great breakfast, you can browse the Airport’s vintage aircraft collection and have a friendly debate about your favorite John Wayne aviation film over eggs and more; the correct answer is Jet Pilot.

See you at breakfast!

05/10/2025

We want to congratulate Winterset Dental on a successful open house this week and thank them for the investment they are making in our community. It is great to see the finished building on a project we had the opportunity to help out on.

03/05/2025

10:00 AM Update from MidAmerican Energy: they are dealing with widespread outages throughout their service area with damage ranging from trees falling on lines, poles snapping, and galloping wires caused by ice build-up on lines causing isolations that break lines and crossarms. Outages peaked at 30,000 customers, but are now down to 12,500. Service is expected to be restored to most by 7:00 PM and to all by Midnight.

Updates can be found here:

Find the latest updates on repairs and service restoration efforts after severe weather.

02/24/2025

If you live, work, or, recreate near the following bridges please fill out this survey to help Madison County tap into $250 million in Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) grants from the USDOT.

Prairieview Avenue over Badger Creek (69 years old)
Deer Run Avenue over West Branch Creek (67 years old)
Carver Road over a drainage ditch east of Pammel State Park (94 years old)

https://hdr.jotform.com/250434574403957?fbclid=IwY2xjawIkRP9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUnIRSArTqJzOE8ljKRxSBYhFZ9QpSWeiUaQkxgplADxPtcXpKHiiJqAQA_aem_4fwWJWUjbx_QVZ1VPMwCmw

Please click the link to complete this form.

02/15/2025

Our thoughts are with the employees and customers of internet service provider BTWI. They are scrambling to find solutions to provide service after the destruction of their headquarters. Thankfully no one was hurt. Our rural internet providers are a critical part of the infrastructure that keeps rural America competitive.