“The economy in Algona has been very good,” Murphy said. “The local people have supported the business here.”

Murphy said over the course of the past year-and-a-half, 15 new homes have been built. Many of them are located on the east side of the city.

“The majority of the new homes are in the east part of Algona,” Murphy said. “There have been new homes built and existing homes remodeled in the other parts of the community as well. This was just one development area that has developed and these are patio homes. But other homes are being developed all over Algona, not just in this one area.”

Patio homes are attached to each other. The homes are typically one or one-and-a-half stories.

-Submitted photo Fifteen new homes have been built in Algona over the past year-and-a-half. Many have been like the patio homes pictured here on the east side of the city.

Murphy, who is beginning his second year as mayor, has lived in Algona since 1984 with his wife, Julie. He was an equal partner at Oak Crest Funeral Services for 30 years. It’s his first stint holding a political office.

At a recent City Council meeting, Murphy was complimentary of the community for supporting local businesses.

“I really praised the community for supporting each other through this pandemic,” he said. “We see the news on businesses closing, even in Des Moines. I feel very fortunate that everyone is supporting each other here. Around Christmastime, everyone made sure to support local businesses. It’s a positive attitude in Algona. We are known for that, supporting and helping one another.”

In fact, Murphy said two new businesses have opened in the city’s downtown within the last few months. Hometown Furniture and The Axe House are now open for business.

Hometown Furniture is a store that sells furniture, mattresses and home decor.

The Axe House is a venue where customers can throw axes and other weapons for recreation.

Murphy is a past president of the Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Kiwanis Club, secretary of Kiwanis Club for 30 years, president of the cemetery board and president of the Algona Public Library Board. He’s also a Mason and a Shriner.

“Julie and I have both been and continue to be very active in local organizations in the community,” Murphy said.

Murphy succeeded Lynn Kueck as mayor in January 2020. Kueck, who served as mayor for 22 years, is also a member of the Kiwanis Club.

“Our Kiwanis Club has two people that have been mayors,” Murphy said. “That’s kind of unusual for a community.”

In the new year, Murphy is looking forward to improving the streets around the city.

“We have been working with the budget, and we have some exciting major street improvement projects planned for the next several years,” Murphy said.

“A few months ago, the city administrator, the director of the street department and I separately identified 90 blocks of Algona that were in need of repair,” Murphy said. “We prioritized those and presented that to the council and set up a time schedule for the repair of these streets. It varies from complete replacement where the infrastructure underneath is replaced to milling and overlaying. That’s just where they scrape it off and level it and lay black top down. That type of a treatment lasts about 15 years.”

Murphy said some of those improvements will begin in just a couple of months.

“This is a good time to borrow money because interest rates are so low,” Murphy said. “We can do this and raise property tax very little in Algona. For a pandemic, things have really looked pretty good here.”