When Mark Robe is sworn in as Kalona mayor at the first City Council meeting of 2020, it will mark the end of two-plus terms as mayor for Ken Herington.

Herington stepped in for Mayor Jerry Kauffman in 2011 and was elected to the post later that year. Herington previously served four terms on the City Council.

“I never ran for City Council when I first got elected. Marilyn Woodin and a bunch of her cronies put together a write-in program and wrote me in for my first term on the council,” Herington recalled. “After I was elected, my wife said I had to take it. I was drafted.”

Herington said that three projects have stood out to him during his time serving the city.

“There was the downtown redevelopment, the rec center, and I think one of the most important things for the town was the flood mitigation we’ve begun,” he said. “Things have started, and we’ve been able to move some buildings and houses out of the flood plain.

“With the properties the city bought north of town – the 55 acres – once the mitigation ponds are put in up there, that’ll be one of the most major things for the city of Kalona. It will remove a lot more properties from the flood plain.”

Herington said he has enjoyed his time in office, seeing the city grow and prosper.

“We’re a very fortunate community,” he said. “People do care. We are prospering. Most small towns, not just in Iowa but all over the country, they don’t prosper like Kalona does. Do the best you can for the community as a whole.”

He noted that Kalona continues to grow with people moving into town.

“We’re getting a lot of outside people moving in,” he said. “It’s not just Kalona residents and their families any more. We’re getting a lot of young people and young families. Hopefully, they’ll help support the community.”

He offered his successor and the City Council some words of wisdom.

“You’re here for the good of the whole, not the good of the one, not your neighbor or your dad or your best friend,” Herington said. “You’re here to help the most of the community.

“I think as long as the City Council keeps that in mind, the better off they will be. You can’t have your own personal agenda. That doesn’t work. I think Mark and this council are here for the good of the whole.”

He also expressed appreciation to the people of Kalona for giving him the opportunity to serve for as long has he had.

“I want to thank the people of Kalona for believing in me,” he said. “They elected me a bunch of times. I think Kalona is headed in the right direction, and I’m anxious to see how the potential new developments that are coming along both north and south of town continue to help Kalona prosper.”