A shared facility the City of Kalona and Mid-Prairie School District began discussing in 2013 is being put on the back burner for the time being. According to City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh, timing and issues such as ownership posed bigger challenges than initially thought. Mid-Prairie is currently working on several projects in Kalona and Wellman that are being funded by a 2014 bond issue.

Schlabaugh says they’re now trying to determine if citizens would support improvements, potentially an addition, to the 100-year-old community center which houses city hall, a YMCA of Washington County branch and the Kalona youth organization, Elements.