2019 WIDA Rural County-Wide Awards Announced!

Announcing the 2019 WIDA Award Winners!

So I asked all of you about your favorite places at the end of December, and I have the results!  Sure, I could just list them, but you know I’d rather talk about the categories as we go, too!

First off, I asked who has the coldest beer?  It was a tie!

Tailgators – Oakland
The Bar’N and Grill – Carson

We had a lot of opinions and honorable mentions went to The Back 40 in Donia and The Exchange in Avoca.  I can’t wait to see if there are chilled mugs and other bars in the game by next year!  But we are lucky to have so many loyal bar owners in our area!  You can’t go wrong with any of them!

Next up, what store is always open for you when you need them?  The winner:

Rubacks Grocery Store - Oakland

As a regular customer myself, I can tell you that they do their best to be open for holidays and they are great at donating to Riverside sports, too.  Well done, Rubacks!  Perhaps the most impressive part was that they beat out competition that had stores in multiple towns.  Our honorable mentions went to our multiple-town-owners:  Casey’s (in Avoca, Minden, Oakland, and Treynor) and Dollar General (in Avoca and Oakland).  We’re glad to have both of them nearby, too!

Category #3:  Where is your favorite hidden gem/best kept secret of Pottawattamie County? The clear winner:

El Sol Mexican Restaurant – Oakland

Apparently, we all love our food and you won’t go away hungry from El Sol!  This category had so many great suggestions!  In fact, there’s a couple on the list I’ll be headed to check out ASAP so I can share them with you!  If I don’t know about them, you might not either!  One that did pop up a couple of times was the Pottawattamie Recycling Center and Swap Shop right outside Oakland. It didn’t have as many votes, but I think that’s because it really does seem to be a secret! Lol.  But here’s my blog about it, in case you didn’t know we had our own little version of the ReStore here!

Honorable Mentions in this category went to Botna Bend Park in Hancock which we’ll talk about more here in a second and Blossoms in Oakland.  If you haven’t been to Blossoms, she has everything!  From women’s clothes to fresh flowers to home décor to gift figurines!  It’s worth the stop!

What’s next?  Where can I get the most original, yet tasty sandwich (no burgers)?  The Winner:

Buck Snort – Oakland And Neola

A multitude of different sandwiches were suggested but the one thing they had in common:  they come from Buck Snort!  I guess when you have a sandwich named the Swamp Donkey, you can assume they have original sandwiches!  Of course, Silos in Treynor and The Bar’N and Grill in Carson were the honorable mentions.  As someone who’s eaten at both, I’m on board with your choices!  Although, I have to say there were a whole bunch of sandwiches I didn’t know were in existence!  Guess we all have some menus to look over!  Think teriyaki and pineapple and a French toast sammie!

Possibly my favorite category:  What’s the first thing you’d take your visiting grandma to see?  The winner by a landslide:

Botna Bend Park – Hancock

Apparently, the elk and buffalo, especially the albino, are a treat grandma would like!  Plus, you can get a close view of the river, have the grandkids play in Hancock Park, and feel right at home in nature.  After a rough 2019, they are back open and ready for an exciting year!

Honorable mentions go to the Nishna Heritage Museum & Mural Gardens in Oakland and the Walnut Antique Drive.  With the enormous mural, beautifully-kept gardens, and a museum packed full of history, it’s no wonder the Nishna Heritage came in second.  Of course, you know I love to shop and Walnut is definitely the place to get that gift you can’t find anywhere else plus, it’s that little walk down memory lane you need sometimes!

There are your fun 5 categories!  Didn’t see your favorite?  Be sure to vote next time around!  And if you haven’t been to one or two of these, make a date right now!  You won’t be sorry! 

Seriously, the answers blew me away. 

We live in a place that is so rich with goodness, options, history, and fun.  It’s so easy to look at what isn’t, but when you look at what is – well, it’s pretty fantastic! 

So here’s to all of you that make it that way –whether you’re a customer, a business owner, a volunteer, an educator, happily retired, a teenager, or somewhere in between! 

​Let’s make 2020 the one to remember!


This blog brought to you by the Oakland Industrial Foundation.