Our Town: Onawa

By Russ McCall, Broker/Owner, McCall Auctions and Real Estate, Onawa

Greetings from the beautiful community of Onawa, Iowa! Strategically located halfway between Sioux City, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska is Onawa—my favorite town. I’ve called Onawa, Iowa (population 3,000) my home for many years and it’s a place near and dear to my heart.

Onawa public library

We are located in Monona county, just off Interstate 29, and our proximity to major transportation routes makes us a great location for business and industry. We have many great retail shops in our downtown, and ten restaurants in our community. We are grateful for so many wonderful businesses that meet the needs of the community and employ our residents.

Onawa elementary schoolOnawa is not only a great place to work, it’s also a wonderful place to live and raise a family. I think we have one of the best public libraries around. The West Monona School system and all the other schools in the area are outstanding. Our community offers a range of outstanding medical care at the Burgess Health Center, and we have a number of care centers for those needing those services. Our faith community is also strong and active, with eight churches in our little town.

If you are a lover of the outdoors, Onawa is the place for you. Our location in western Iowa has us adjacent to a number of outdoor recreation opportunities, including the beautiful Loess Hills rising 200 feet above the prairie on the east side of our county. This unique geographic formation was created by wind-driven loess soil during the last ice age and is a great place to spend a day exploring the beautiful scenery. Additionally, Blue Lake is only 2 miles west of Onawa with great fishing, and camping opportunities abound at places like KOA Camping and the On-Ur-Wa R.V. Park located adjacent to I-29.

Car show downtown Onawa
Finally, Onawa is a community that likes to have fun. We host a fun car show in June called Graffiti Night, and the Monona County fair every July which is full of entertainment and great food. RAGBRAI was hosted by Onawa in 2018 and was a huge success, and we had such a great time we will be certainly working to host again in the future.

I hope you will come experience all that Onawa has to offer next time you are passing through the area!

*NWIA sends a shout of thanks to the Onawa Chamber of Commerce for providing community photos and information for this article.

Monona County Fair in Onawa

Onawa Ragbrai 2018

Monona County Fair

Lewis and Clark boat in Onawa

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Russ McCall, McCall AuctionRuss McCall is the Broker/Owner of McCall Auctions and Real Estate in Onawa. McCall Auctions was founded in 1935 by E.W. “Red” McCall, and started as primarily a livestock auction company. McCall Auctions grew in 1974 when Russ and Loretta McCall began their vision of what has made McCall Auctions & Real Estate what it is today, a full time, full service Auction & Brokerage Company.

The company has conducted thousands of auctions including livestock, farm machinery & equipment, estates, antiques, collectibles and real estate auctions. Russ believes there is no place like HOME.