This former district seed sales manager wasn’t afraid to speak up and plant the idea that things could improve — and he was willing to help.

“I eventually decided to run for city council with a motto of ‘no junk cars or barking dogs,'” said Westergaard, 71, who won the election.

When Westergaard campaigned for mayor more than 13 years ago, people could see he was focused on creating positive change in the community, plus he had a track record of success.

Since 2008, Lake View has received $6 million in grants to fund projects ranging from marketing projects to infrastructure improvements. In October 2021, the City of Lake View received a $250,000 Iowa Great Places grant, which will go toward the city’s community center project.

-Photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

Signs of Lake View’s progress abound throughout the town year-round, lest anyone think the busy summer season at Black Hawk Lake is the only reason the town is thriving.

On a recent snowy Saturday morning in early February, it was tough to find parking spots downtown on Main Street, which boasts 22 businesses.

Despite the cold weather, the local coffee shop Milton’s On Main was packed with customers. Down the street, women of all ages were shopping for clothing and gifts at Homebody’s and Salon L & Boutique. Other people were heading over to play golf on frozen Black Hawk Lake for the 34th annual Arctic Open. At lunchtime, families stopped by The Bar on Main Street to grab a bite to eat.

That was just a fraction of the momentum in town that day. It’s inspiring to Westergaard and other local leaders who gathered to chat at Milton’s On Main that morning, including Connie Aasen, who handles much of the marketing, social media and grant writing for Lake View, and Anji Bennett, a local graphic designer/photographer. All share a passion for helping the community succeed.

“My mom taught me if you’re going to live in a community, you need to contribute to help make it the best it can be,” said Westergaard, who grew up on a farm north of Newell. “I’ve also learned that you’re doomed if your philosophy is, ‘We’ve always done it that way.'”

-Photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Lake View Mayor John Westergaard donated a 42-foot-long, electric toy train display and raised money to help build a train display table at the Lake View Historical Museum, which has attracted more children to the museum. Now the board of directors includes a number of young parents.

Possibility is where

you look for it

Change is at the heart of possibility and positive transformation. Here are 10 tips Westergaard and his fellow community leaders in Lake View share about how to jump-start progress in small, rural communities:

1. Get involved in community projects. While Lake View has hosted a summer water carnival for decades, the town has also added a number of popular amenities in recent years, from a splash pad for kids to new pickleball courts in the summer of 2022.

2. It’s OK to start small and build from there. “Dreaming big is fine, but break things down into small, doable goals,” said Aasen, a former vice president of marketing at Sabre Industries in Sioux City. One project that has generated tremendous community spirit in Lake View involves wooden cutouts that people can paint and display in their yard. “I wanted a bunny around Easter 2019 and asked if John would make me one,” Aasen said. “The bunny proved so popular that we ended up with bunnies all over town.”

-Photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
In the last few years, Lake View has worked with the branding committee, Anji Bennett and her sister Andrea Hindt, a mural painter, to design and paint colorful murals around town, including “Wally the Walleye” riding a bicycle on an old elevator near Main Street.

That summer, Westergaard also decided to make some wooden sailboats, which people could purchase for a nominal fee. “There was so much demand that I cut out more than 500 sailboats,” he said.

3. Go after entrepreneurial ideas. Instead of just tearing down old, decrepit houses, Lake View also encourages new home construction. “We had 11 new houses built in 2022,” Westergaard said. This has helped attract more people to town. “People tell us often, ‘If Lake View was still like it was 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have moved here, but now things have changed for the better,'” said Aasen, who is glad she and her husband purchased a home in Lake View and retired here a few years ago.

4. Offer the unexpected. In the last few years, Lake View has worked with the branding committee, Anji Bennett and her sister Andrea Hindt, a mural painter, to design and paint colorful murals around town, including “Wally the Walleye” riding a bicycle on an old elevator near Main Street. People also love posing for pictures in a huge, wooden Adirondack chair that Westergaard made and installed near the pickleball courts.

5. Create experiences in the community. Thousands of people come to Lake View each summer for the annual Sip & Sample wine tasting/vendor show in early June and the Stone Pier Concrete Series, which offers live music by the lake in June, July, August and September. “Lake View is a great place to make memories,” Aasen said.

6. Embrace branding. From the “Find Your Passion” slogan to a sailboat logo featuring bold colors, Lake View has created distinct branding that promotes the community. The branding shows up consistently on billboards, the Lake View Lifestyle website, banners that grace Main Street and more. “Anji and I started working on new branding about five years ago, and this has made a tremendous difference,” Aasen said. “It helps support our bigger vision to make Lake View a town that people are talking about in a positive way.”

7. Encourage young leaders to help with various initiatives. Westergaard donated a 42-foot-long, electric toy train display and raised money to help build a train display table at the Lake View Historical Museum. This has attracted more children to the museum, where the board of directors now includes a number of young parents. “All this brings new energy to the museum,” said Westergaard, who shares these kinds of success stories in his “Moment with the Mayor” update in the monthly e-newsletter from the City of Lake View.

8. Stay positive. Don’t get discouraged if everyone isn’t on board right away. Changing mindsets and making progress takes time. “I don’t take no for an answer, and I don’t believe in talking things to death,” said Westergaard, a U.S. Marine who served in combat during the Vietnam War. “I believe in teamwork, dedication and finishing what you start.”

9. Understand “snow-globe syndrome.” Some people will never catch the vision of helping the community reach its full potential. They may have lived in the community all their life and don’t want anything to change. Others simply choose to be naysayers, no matter what. “It’s like these people are in a snow globe, where they can’t see beyond the bubble they’re in,” Westergaard said. “I shake things up and move forward anyway.”

10. Be consistent, and keep casting a vision of progress. Lake View is a community where small-town dreams aren’t just waiting to happen — they’re becoming a reality, thanks to city leaders with a consistent vision of progress. “Lake View is worth $100 million in taxable valuation to Sac County,” said Westergaard, who noted that the city has been able to lower its tax levy in recent years. “We’re always asking, ‘What can we do next?'”