Childcare, and the families who stayed

Do you ever get a song or an idea in your head that just seems to go round and round?
For Seth Milledge, Keota Elementary School Principal, this loop is the desire to establish childcare in the community, where in 2022 he had just arrived. “My wife and I have young children and were looking for childcare options in the community because we wanted to live, work, and access childcare for our kids right here in Keota,” says Milledge.

At the same time, Sigourney resident Gary Iosbaker was seeking answers to the same questions. He and his wife Christy were confronted by a tragedy no one ever imagines, the loss of their daughter. With this loss, Gary and Christie became caretakers for their daughter Megan’s two sons.

Gary Iosbaker has been the Executive Director for Keokuk County Economic Development since 2022. Iosbaker explains, “We are blessed in our personal circumstances to have the resources to help raise our grandchildren, but one of the realizations I came to through dealing with the unexpected things life throws at you is that community childcare is as fundamental to building a resilient community as any core infrastructure (think roads, bridges, water, and utilities). Only caring for children by comparison is more important, it’s not even close.”

In 2022, a concerted effort began to find the answers which both communities were asking. Why are there so few registered daycares in the 580 square miles of Keokuk County?
Kevin Hatfield, Sigourney Schools Superintendent and Lisa Brenneman, Superintendent of Keota Schools have been a key part of helping guide the community conversations around childcare. Brenneman says, “Financial assistance options to help families afford the cost of daycare, making high-quality care more accessible, is fundamental to serving our community. To receive subsidies and grants from the state, there needs to be a standard of care and transparency.” Hatfield adds, “Registered centers are required to follow strict regulatory compliance for safety standards and background checks, as well as, guidelines related to health, sanitation, emergency preparedness, and the physical safety of the premises.”

In 2024, a non-profit was formed and named Keokuk County Childcare Network (KCCN). Iosbaker explains, the number one goal of KCCN is to provide quality childcare as a professional service. We will attract and retain high quality, professional staff. Thirdly, KCCN strives to serve all of Keokuk County.

We are following a model for how this has been successfully implemented in other communities. There are many resources available to support this effort which have helped us design a three-tier plan.
Collaborative approach to share a director and other resources between two main sites, located in Sigourney and Keota. This helps meet criteria required for state appropriations (including the minimum number of children).
Physical independence of our two locations and support for registered in-home daycare providers both existing and new.
High quality services through the many benefits of collaboration including offering higher wages for employees; increased appeal for funding from grants; and greater cost efficiency in licensing, certifications, and trainings.
A major outcome of this three-tier plan is self-sustainable revenue for the business in an 18 to 24 month timeframe from startup.

The two main locations for KCCN are 909 East Jackson Street, Sigourney and 500 N. Ellis Street, Keota Elementary School.

In the coming weeks, more information about the planned August 2024 opening will be made available to the public. The KCCN board made up of residents in our two communities looks forward to helping establish excellent childcare. Communities are like a circle that never breaks; they hold together through time, resilience, and unity, much like the timeless melody of ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken.’

Photos from the Keokuk County Childcare Network – Little Eagles Childcare open house and ribbon cutting on January 14!

KCCN board members and staff were joined by KCED Board members to celebrate this exciting milestone for our community. 🎉✂️

We’re proud to support the growth of quality childcare in Keokuk County!
Good evening, and welcome. Thank you all for being here to celebrate a truly historic moment for Keota and Keokuk County – the opening of Little Eagles Childcare, the very first KCCN childcare center!
Not long ago, many of us were standing in rooms like this talking about a problem that felt overwhelming. For families in our community, childcare wasn’t just difficult—it was a serious burden. And that burden came down to three things: affordability, reliability, and accessibility.
Families asked themselves hard questions:
Can we realistically afford childcare?
Can we depend on it so we can go to work every day?
And perhaps most discouraging of all – is there even childcare available close to home?
For families in Keota and across Keokuk County, the honest answer used to be no!
At one point, more than 500 children under the age of five had zero licensed childcare options to serve them in Keokuk County. We were living in the most severe childcare desert in the entire state of Iowa.
That reality didn’t just impact parents – it affected our workforce, our schools, our businesses, and the future of our communities.
Those numbers told a clear story. But tonight, this childcare center tells a new one.
Little Eagles Childcare represents the moment our community decided to make a change – and that our families were worth investing in.
This did not happen by accident, and it certainly did not happen alone.
First, I want to thank the Keota School Board. Your willingness to see this vision through – to ask “why not?” instead of “why?” – made all the difference. You understood that strong schools depend on strong families, and strong families depend on reliable childcare. Your leadership, support, and belief in this project helped turn an idea into a reality.
To our individual, business, and grant donors – thank you. This center stands because of your generosity. You invested not just dollars, but trust. You believed in the families of Keota. You believed in working parents. You believed in the future of this community. Every contribution, large or small, played a role in opening these doors, and we are deeply grateful.
I also want to recognize the many partners, volunteers, and advocates who worked behind the scenes – planning, problem-solving, and pushing forward even when the path wasn’t easy. This was worthwhile community work in the truest sense of the word.
And of course, thank you to the Keokuk County Childcare Network for leading this effort and keeping the focus where it belongs – on high-quality, affordable, licensed childcare that truly meets the needs of families. I’d be remiss not to shout out the quality leadership from KCCN Board President Gary Iosbaker. His drive, ideas, and thoroughness has led us to this evening!

Could not have done it without our donors.
OVER $127,000 RAISED!!

Tonight is about more than the opening of a childcare center. It’s about hope. It’s about momentum. It’s about saying that Keota is a place where families can live, work, and raise children with confidence.
Little Eagles Childcare is the first step – but it won’t be the last. Together, we are laying the foundation for a stronger workforce, thriving schools, and a community that is moving forward throughout Keokuk County.
Thank you for believing in this vision.
Thank you for supporting our families.
And thank you for being part of this milestone moment for Keota and Keokuk County.

At Keota Fun Days, amid the music, food, and families enjoying the summer celebration, I stood at our small booth—its table stacked with flyers, donation jars, and posters about the urgent need for childcare in Keokuk County. Our mission is simple but vital: to launch a licensed childcare facility that will serve working families in our rural community. Without it, too many parents are left with no options—unable to afford care, unable to work, and often forced to move away. For our community to thrive, we must build a place where our children are safe, supported, and cared for.
As the crowd flowed past, one man slowed his steps and walked directly over. He introduced himself as Doug Henderson. He told me he was born and raised in Keota, but now lives in Arkansas. We talked for only a few moments, but something about the sincerity in his voice and the way he looked toward the town Main Street told me how deeply this place still lived in his heart.
Then, without hesitation, Doug reached into his wallet and pulled out a $100 bill. He handed it to me and said he wanted to see it go toward this important cause. No fanfare. No speech. Just a quiet, genuine gesture from someone who understood what’s at stake.
That moment stayed with me. Not just because of the donation, generous as it was—but because Doug didn’t have to stop. He didn’t have to give. He doesn’t live here anymore. But he still carries Keota with him, and he wanted to invest in its future. In our future.
I’m so grateful—for Doug’s generosity, for his belief in what we’re building, and for the reminder that this work is bigger than any one of us. It will take a whole community, past and present, coming together.
People like Doug Henderson are the reason this effort will succeed. They show us what real support looks like: not just talk, but action; not just nostalgia, but commitment. And that’s exactly what it will take to give our children—and our town—the future they deserve.