Red Oak Fabrication has been in the Fort family since 1913, and my brother Jacob and I are the fourth generation to continue in the business. Jacob and I were fortunate enough to grow up around the business and knew this is where we would end up.

My wife Traci and I are owners of the Five One 8 and longtime residents of Red Oak, Iowa. Traci is a behavioral health nurse and I manage a manufacturing plant, but music and art have always been a part of our lives.The Five One 8 is an attempt to bring something truly unique to our community.

As we all say, it takes a village to run our theatre. We are celebrating our 10-year anniversary of being completely run by volunteers! We draw people to our theatre from the entire county and beyond — even from other states.

My husband David and I live on a small acreage just outside of Red Oak with our three kids. In 2016 we expanded our garden knowledge and experimented by planting a few pumpkins mounds. We were so excited about the results, we knew we needed to do something that had an impact.

Whether you just want to visit, or you are thinking of thriving here permanently, Red Oak is less than an hour to the Omaha metro. We invite you to visit, but we know you will want to stay, where the heart of Southwest Iowa lives.

We’re in Red Oak, Iowa (pop. 5,415) this week on the podcast with Daric and Jill O’Neal of JMercantile and Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture. We’re talking all things community revitalization and development - including expanding Daric’s architecture company from the city to a small town, and Jill getting to bring her dream of a design and home decor shop to life.