About Us

MISSION STATEMENT
To provide, in a democratic and transparent manner, efficient and effective services, which will make West Liberty a better place in which to live, work and visit. The City of West Liberty is dedicated to making the best use of its resources as a city government – human, financial, technical, and legal – to support our unique quality of life in West Liberty and make our community a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

LOCATION:
West Liberty is located five miles south of I-80, at Exit 259. We're a "small" eastern Iowa City with "big city" advantages. The town's ideal location provides a variety of cultural, educational and recreational opportunities. We are at the crossroads of Highway 6 running East/West and Highway 70 to the South. We are 25 minutes from Iowa City, the home of the University of Iowa. Less than an hour drive are the Cedar Rapids and Quad City metro areas. Historic Muscatine on the banks of the Mississippi River is only a 20 minute drive to the south.

TELEPHONE COMPANY, INTERNET & DIGITAL CABLE SERVICES:
Telephone services are provided by Liberty Communications, a privately-owned Independent telephone company founded in 1908. The company serves people in West Liberty and nearby West Branch with 100% private line service, digital switching, equal access long distance, and fully redundant fiber-optic toll facilities. Customers can lease or buy a variety of telephones, and subscribe to a wide range of custom calling services, including Caller ID. The company also offers local number accessible Internet accounts, statewide paging with local or 800 numbers, and cellular phones.

SCHOOLS:
The West Liberty Community School System consists of over 1200 students in four different buildings. The administrative office is located in the 111 West Seventh Street facility. Pre-K and Kindergarten attend the Early Learning Center; Grades 1-5 attend the Elementary school on Miller Street; Grades 6-8 attend the Middle School on Seventh Street; Grades 9-12 attend the West Liberty High School located on the west side of town off of West Maxson Avenue. Nearby colleges include the University of Iowa and Kirkwood Community College at Iowa City; St. Ambrose University and Scott Community College in Davenport; Cornell College at Mt. Vernon; Coe College and Kirkwood Community in Cedar Rapids; and Muscatine Community College in Muscatine.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
Kimberly Park: 12 acres, heated swimming pool, modern playground equipment, permanent restrooms, picnic shelters (one enclosed with ceiling fans - reservations needed). Wapsie Park: 46 acres, lighted ball fields, volleyball courts, picnic shelter, hiking trail, playground equipment, permanent restrooms. Call 319-627-2418 or 319-627-3131 for more information. Muscatine County Fairgrounds: over 60 acres of tree shaded concourse and camp grounds, covered amphitheater, half mile oval dirt race track featuring Stock Car Races every Saturday night from April to September, community building available for many activities plus Bingo every Monday night. New Strand Theater: current release movies shown in an old theater atmosphere, open seven days a week. Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Co.: internationally known puppet builders and theatre.

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY:
West Liberty Foods, a national turkey-meat processor plant employing over 500 people, was originally founded as the Louis Rich Company. Other major employers are the City of West Liberty, the West Liberty School Community School District, two implement dealers, two automobile dealers, the West Liberty State Bank, the Simpson Memorial Home-nursing and retirement facilities, and Liberty Anodizing. We have an active Chamber of Commerce, a vital downtown district, and over 20 Service clubs and organizations. Community and area news can be found in the Index, a locally owned weekly newspaper since 1868.

AGRICULTURE:
West Liberty is located in the Northwest corner of Muscatine County, in some of the most productive farm ground in the State. The gently rolling hills of dark rich soil are well suited for the production of corn and soybeans. Several farms raise cattle and hogs, and a pair of large turkey growing operations are in the rural West Liberty area.

FESTIVALS & CELEBRATIONS:
Muscatine County Fair - Opening day the 3rd Wednesday of July. Over 130 years old.
Muscatine County Fair Parade - Sunday before the Fair
Mexican Independence Day - Second weekend in September
Holiday Open House & Festival of Trees - Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving

LIBRARY:
West Liberty can boast of a Carnegie Library built in 1904 with a $7,500 grant from Andrew Carnegie. Patrons with library cards have open access to 300 other libraries and Inter-Library loan through southeast Library Services. West Liberty Public Library has an account on the Internet for their patrons' use. You can reach them at www.wlpl.org or phone 319-627-2084.