My, how one’s plans and perceptions can change in a short amount of time.
Not too long ago, I was contemplating whether or not we needed a physical office for our publishing company in Guthrie County. When I purchased the Guthrie County Times Vedette weekly newspaper, we continued renting the space at 111 E. Main St. in Panora where the newspaper had been for years. We had a small staff that mostly worked from home. Customers rarely came through the door. And the COVID-19 pandemic proved that many companies could do just fine with employees working remotely (or at least we thought so).
After talking with many people, I decided to keep renting the building for the time being. As I spent more time in the office, I had a growing desire to make improvements to it, but I didn’t want to do so as a renter. So, I bought the building and started making updates including a new awning on the front and new windows inside, as well as much-needed painting and cleaning. I had drawn up greater plans to build out the back storage area, add another bathroom and create a few private offices. It all seemed like a good idea, but it was certainly a stretch from my prior view of not needing an office at all. In the meantime, we redesigned this publication, launched two new publications, and converted the Times Vedette to a twice-weekly digital edition. As such, we added staff.
While in the midst of this, I learned of a building in Guthrie Center at 104 Industrial Road that might be for sale that could accommodate our office space needs and provide warehouse space for production use down the road. And, in the meantime, I could rent the space for boat and RV storage and put some of my own stuff in there, too. So, I made an offer. And, ultimately, I bought the building, which many of you know as the prior home of the DICA plant that manufactured outrigger and crane pads.
So, a guy who wasn’t going to own any properties now has two commercial buildings in the county.
We moved our publishing offices to Guthrie Center a few months ago and have made many improvements to the nearly 14,000-square-foot building. New paint inside and out. Some doors and windows replaced. Overhead furnaces repaired. New signage installed. Dead trees removed. Gutters and downspouts repaired. The list goes on, but the end result has been wonderful. We now have office space even better than what we were working on in Panora with room to grow. We have a home base for our staff to work out of that they can be proud of. And we are pleased to be part of the greater Guthrie County community. We still have some work to do, but it is coming along.
If you are curious, I am exploring options on what to do with our Panora building. I am open to leasing it or selling it. And if that doesn’t work, I have some ideas for a new business that we may run out of that office, too.
I share all this with you because we are having an open house at our facility at 104 Industrial Road in Guthrie Center on Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 4-6:30 p.m., and I am hoping you can stop by and see our facility and operations. You can enjoy refreshments, take a tour and meet our staff. There is no need to RSVP. Just stop by and say hello. I look forward to seeing you. n
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Lake Panorama Times
641-332-2707
shane@gctimesnews.com