Photo provided courtesy of Laura Carrell/Ottumwa Courier

There has been a lot of work quietly being done at the Capitol and Capri theaters over the last year, primarily making the buildings safe, watertight and disposing of over 50 dumpsters of trash contained within. The time to decide the ultimate purpose of these two wonderful old buildings is coming near. To help us with this important decision, we have hired Artspace, a nonprofit developer for the arts based out of Minneapolis. Artspace will lead two days of focus groups, tours and meetings which will culminate in a feasibility study. At 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 14th, the public is invited to attend a town hall meeting at Bridge View Center to learn about Artspace and the economic and community impact of the arts. There will also be discussion on the future usage of the theaters in downtown Ottumwa. We are looking forward to the findings of Artspace and obtaining input from the Ottumwa community. Many thanks to our steering committee co-chairs Pam Kaupins and Jeff Hendred and the entire REACT (Rivers Edge Arts and Culture Team) for spearheading this fantastic event.