Newkomis holds town hall meeting

March 20, 2025 33

NOKOMIS — Newkomis entered the next phase of the MAPPING the Future of Your Community process with a town hall meeting “Neighborhood Street Party” held on Wednesday, March 12 at Nokomis High School.

President Kurt Aumann served as the emcee as well as a committee spokesperson for the meeting, while Nokomis Mayor Dylan Goldsmith, MAPPING program director Gisele Hamm, and select representatives of each of the organization’s six committees rounded out the speakers for the meeting.

Mayor Goldsmith relayed that one of the key tenets of his mayoral campaign in 2023 was to make significant improvements in the community. Between the efforts that the City of Nokomis has made and the ongoing efforts of Newkomis since the MAPPING sessions this past fall, a lot has been accomplished in such a short time with many more accomplishments to come.

Newkomis is the community organization resulting from the merger of the Greater Nokomis Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Nokomis Association (DNA), and the City of Nokomis’ Planning Commission. Prior to the town hall meeting, the Chamber and DNA officially dissolved, with the former dissolving an hour prior to the meeting. Chamber President Dr. Scott Doerr and DNA President Trever Loafman presented checks to Newkomis Treasurer Charlie O’Malley at the beginning of the meeting. The organization is the beneficiary of $47,317.67 from the Greater Nokomis Chamber of Commerce and $2,882 from the Downtown Nokomis Association.

Hamm, along with Linda Lee Blaine, oversee the MAPPING program for the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, based at Western Illinois University in Macomb. Hamm provided a synopsis of what was covered during the five sessions, which took place between October and December of last year.

Representatives from each committee made their respective presentations to the 100+ in attendance, including Newkomis volunteers.

Several major developments were shared by committees throughout the evening, which included an upcoming daycare service set to be open by the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year, the revival of the Meals on Wheels program thanks to generous support from Nokomis Christian Missions, a partnership with Bridge The Gap for its 2025 campaign Extreme Makeover: Nokomis Edition, an upcoming business incubator event set for April, and an upcoming housing survey among others.

Following the conclusion of the presentations, attendees were treated to a “Taste Of The Town” in the high school cafeteria, featuring items from local businesses, including Jayden Morrison, Spruce Street Sweets, Thai Welcome Restaurant, Dairy Queen, Batty Cakes, Noko Sugar Rush, and Junie B’s and Smoking Guns BBQ.

Attendees were also able to check out what each committee has been up to with presentations placed on both sides of the cafeteria.

At the conclusion of the event, there was a raffle drawing for gift certificates to local merchants, as well as a mini-auction for the eight light posts that were built by Denny Umberger for the event.

The community is welcome to be part of Newkomis’ ongoing mission to improve Nokomis and the surrounding area by joining any of the committee meetings, by following Newkomis on Facebook, and by reaching out to any volunteer to see how you can help out.

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Jake Leonard

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.