Denny Kunkle has been Guthrie Center’s Mayor for almost thirty years, so it’s safe to say he’s seen some change.

The biggest changes in Kunkle’s time as mayor though… well they’re still on the horizon, as Guthrie Center’s facade improvement construction will start this spring, and the town’s partnership with Main Street Iowa is about to officially begin.

Kunkle has played an integral role in facilitating the coming changes, and he says he’s filled with pride to be part of the Guthrie Center community during such exciting times.

“It makes me really proud of everybody involved… to get to this point it has taken a lot of hard work by a lot of people, and it is good to show yourself that if you work hard, don’t give up, then good things can come.  And so far, that has worked out really well for us.”

Kunkle attributes the revitalization of Guthrie Center to the change in community attitude he’s seen in recent years.  People are committed to moving the town forward, and that emphasis started with fixing up the downtown street lights a few years ago.  Kunkle reflects…

“A lot of people in the community weren’t so in favor of (the street light renovations), but in the end, when they saw the final result, they were very proud of what it looked like, and that just kind of started the whole thing.  And during the street process is when we learned about the facade grant improvement through the state, so we investigated that and applied and were successful.  So it’s kinda been a three-step thing: it started with sidewalks and street lights, now we’ve got the facade grant improvements, and then we got into the Main Street program, which is just kind of a continuation of what we got started a couple years ago.”

To hear Mayor Kunkle fully reflect on Guthrie Center receiving its Main Street Iowa designation and more, tune-in to today’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County on K107 during the 9am, noon and 5 o’clock hours.