GLENWOOD, Iowa (KMTV) — It's been a long road back to where things started for Kids Place in Glenwood. After the closure of the Glenwood Resource Center, parents and school district leaders needed to find a new home for the childcare center. Grant funding will make it possible to stay on the GRC campus and renovate existing buildings.
- "The plans are – Kids Place is going to be in this building,” Superintendent Nicole Kooiker said. “We're going to all stay in this building and actually do some expansion."
- “And I think we want something that when you walk in, your heart doesn’t sink because you’re leaving your child there but that you have hope that you’re leaving your child in good hands,” said Rachel Reis, a Glenwood parent.
- Long-time director, Rhonda Maiers, retired a few years ago but is returning to help with its revitalization: "You get knocked down. You get back up."
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
For several years, Glenwood neighbors have been struggling to find a childcare solution after the state announced it was closing the resource center campus.
I'm Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
I've been following this story for more than a year and now community leaders say they have a path forward.
For decades, Kids Place rented space at the Glenwood Resource Center. When the state closed GRC, neighbors scrambled for options. Now, they have one says new Glenwood superintendent, Nicole Kooiker.
"The plans are – Kids Place is going to be in this building,” Kooiker said. “We're going to all stay in this building and actually do some expansion."
It's a relief for parents like Rachel Reis.
“And I think we want something that when you walk in, your heart doesn’t sink because you’re leaving your child there but that you have hope that you’re leaving your child in good hands,” she said.
Bond issues for a new daycare were rejected by voters.
“And so we started talking through, well, ‘why didn’t it pass?’”
And with the campus power plant shutting down, it seemed too costly to connect to utilities.
So, neighbors worked with the school and secured federal grant dollars through the state, as well as private donations. They'll connect to utilities and renovate the century-old building without using taxpayer money.
“This is great because this facility works really well,” Kooiker said. “It’s a gorgeous location. We have all of our playgrounds.”
Rhonda Maiers retired as director of kids place a few years ago. She was there from the beginning in 1991 through the 2019 floods and COVID. She saw some of the kids she cared for come back as parents.
“He was looking for a daycare and he called and asked ‘is that blonde lady still there?’” Maiers said.
She's coming back to help with its revitalization: "You get knocked down. You get back up."
“Let’s create something that is beautiful and something that we can continue to see grow,” Reis said.
Kids Place will temporarily move to a local elementary school for the summer while construction takes place.
