It's no secret, most of us would like to stay in our own home as we age. Yet, sometimes our loved ones just need a little extra help to remain comfortable at home. That's where Always Best Care can help....we are dedicated to exceeding expectations....always.
They say that your golden years are the best years of your life. For most older Americans, that's how it should be - a time to relax, reflect, and live life in a familiar place. After all, senior citizens in the U.S. have worked tirelessly to build a better economy, serve their communities, and raise families.
However, as seniors grow older, completing daily tasks like showering and enjoying activities such as visiting Old Stone House of Brooklyn in Brooklyn, IA gets harder without someone by their side. Unfortunately, many older Americans aren't able to rely on their adult children for help. The reality in today's world is that family members do not have the skills or time to dedicate to caring for their parents. That's where Always Best Care Senior Services comes in.
Our in-home care services are for people who prefer to stay at home as they grow older but need ongoing care that family or friends cannot provide. More and more older adults prefer to live far away from long-term, institutionalized facilities and closer to the place where they feel most comfortable - their home. Home care in Brooklyn, IA is a safe, effective way to give your loved ones the care they need when they need it the most.
Home Care Services
Service AreasSince 1996, Always Best Care has provided non-medical in-home care for seniors to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as they get older. We are proud to have helped more than 25,000 seniors maintain higher levels of dignity and respect. We focus on providing seniors with the highest level of in-home care available so that they may live happily and independently.
Unlike some senior care companies, we genuinely want to be included in our clients' lives. We believe that personalized care is always the better option over a "one size fits all" approach. To make sure our senior clients receive the best care possible, we pair them with compassionate caregivers who understand their unique needs. That way, they may provide care accordingly without compromising their wellbeing.
The Always Best Care difference lies in life's little moments - where compassionate care and trustworthy experience come together to help seniors live a fruitful, healthy life. Whether you are an aging adult that can't quite keep up with life's daily tasks or the child of a senior who needs regular in-home services, Always Best Care is here to help.
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Home is where the heart is. While that saying can sound a tad cliche, it is especially true for many seniors living in America. When given a choice, older adults most often prefer to grow older at home. An AARP study found that three out of four adults over the age of 50 want to stay in their homes and communities as they age.
When you begin to think about why, it makes sense. Home offers a sense of security, comfort, and familiarity.
The truth is, as we age, we begin to rely on others for help. When a family is too busy or lives too far away to fulfill this role, in-home senior care is often the best solution. Home care services allow seniors to enjoy personal independence while also receiving trustworthy assistance from a trained caregiver.
At Always Best Care, we offer a comprehensive range of home care services to help seniors stay healthy while they get the help they need to remain independent. As your senior loved one gets older, giving them the gift of senior care is one of the best ways to show your love, even if you live far away.
To give our senior clients the best care possible, we offer a full spectrum of in-home care services:
If your senior loved one has specific care needs, our personal care services are a great choice to consider. Personal care includes the standard caregiving duties associated with companion care and includes help with tasks such as dressing and grooming. Personal care can also help individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes.
Common personal care services include assistance with:
Sometimes, seniors need helpful reminders to maintain a high quality of life at home. If you or your senior has trouble with everyday tasks like cooking, our home helper services will be very beneficial.
Common home helper care services include assistance with:
Using this kind of care is a fantastic way to make life easier for you or your senior loved one. At Always Best Care, our talented caregivers often fill the role of a companion for seniors. That way, older adults can enjoy their favorite local activities, such as visiting Prospect Park in Brooklyn, IA with friends while also receiving the care they need daily or weekly.
Common companionship services include:
According to AARP, more than 53 million adults living in the U.S. provide care to someone over 50 years old. Unfortunately, these caregivers experience stress, exhaustion, and even depression. Our respite care services help family caregivers address urgent obligations, spend time with their children, and enjoy nearby activities. Perhaps more importantly, respite care gives family members time to recharge and regroup. Taking personal time to de-stress reduces the risk of caregiver burnout. So, if you've always wanted to eat at the local Meadowsweet or visit Brooklyn Bridge, don't feel bad. Doing so is great for both you and your loved one.
At the end of the day, our goal is to become a valuable part of your senior's daily routine. That way, we may help give them the highest quality of life possible. We know that staying at home is important for your loved one, and we are here to help make sure that is possible.
If you have been on the fence about non-medical home care, there has never been a better time than now to give your senior the care, assistance, and companionship they deserve.
Always Best Care in-home services are for older adults who prefer to stay at home but need ongoing care that friends and family cannot provide. In-home care is a safe, effective way for seniors to age gracefully in a familiar place and live independent, non-institutionalized lives. The benefits of non-medical home care are numerous. Here are just a few reasons to consider senior care services from Always Best Care:
According to AARP, 9 out of 10 seniors prefer to age in place within the comfort of their own home. With in-home care, seniors have a way to stay at home, receive the care they need, and maintain a sense of independence, improving overall wellness.
If you or a member of your family have assumed the role of caregiver for your senior loved one, you know how stressful the job can be. Between caregiver burnout and constant worry, being a family caregiver is hard. In-home care relieves your burden and gives you peace of mind knowing that your older family member is in expert hands.
Unlike nursing homes, where the staff and residents rotate frequently, seniors can foster new friendships and build bonds with their caregiver. Seniors who socialize on a regular basis are often happier, which fosters positivity and leads to increased wellbeing.
No two seniors need the same kind of in-home care assistance. That is why each of our Care Plans is tailored to meet our client's individual needs. We offer plans that cover everything from light housekeeping to more involved duties like transportation to doctor's appointments. Our Care Coordinators will work closely with you to develop a personalized plan to ensure your senior's needs are exceeded.
Always Best Care offers a full array of care options for patients at all levels of health. With our trusted elderly care services, your loved one will receive the level of care necessary for them to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.
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While it's true that some seniors have complicated medical needs that prevent them from staying at home, aging in place is often the best arrangement for seniors and their families. With a trusted caregiver, seniors have the opportunity to live with a sense of dignity and do so as they see fit - something that is unavailable to many older people today.
In-home care makes it possible for millions of seniors to age in place every year. Rather than moving to a strange nursing home, seniors have the chance to stay at home where they feel the happiest and most comfortable.
How much does a senior's home truly mean to them?
A study published by the American Society on Aging found that more than half of seniors say their home's emotional value means more than how much their home is worth in monetary value. It stands to reason, then, that a senior's home is where they want to grow old.
With the help of elderly care in Brooklyn, IA, seniors don't have to age in a sterilized care facility. Instead, they can age gracefully in the place they want to be most: their home. In contrast, seniors who move to a long-term care facility must adapt to new environments, new people, and new systems that the facility implements. At this stage in life, this kind of drastic change can be more harmful than helpful.
Institutional care facilities like nursing homes often put large groups of people together to live in one location. On any given day, dozens of staff members and caregivers run in and out of these facilities. Being around so many new people in a relatively small living environment can be dangerous for a seniors' health and wellbeing. When you consider that thousands of seniors passed away in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for in-home care is often a safer, healthier choice for seniors.
Aging in place has been shown to improve seniors' quality of life, which helps boost physical health and also helps insulate them from viral and bacterial risks found in elderly living facilities.
For many seniors, the ability to live independently with assistance from a caregiver is a priceless option. With in-home care, seniors experience a higher level of independence and freedom - much more so than in other settings like a nursing home. When a senior has the chance to age in place, they get to live life on their own terms, inside the house that they helped make into a home. More independence means more control over their personal lives, too, which leads to increased levels of fulfillment, happiness, and personal gratification. Over time, these positive feelings can manifest into a healthier, longer life.
More independence, a healthier life, and increased comfort are only a few benefits of aging in place. You have to take into consideration the role of cost and convenience. Simply put, it's usually easier and more affordable to help seniors age in place than it is to move them into an institutional care facility. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, seniors who age in the comfort of their homes can save thousands of dollars per month.
In-home care services from Always Best Care, for instance, are often less expensive than long-term solutions, which can cost upwards of six figures per year. To make matters worse, many residential care facilities are reluctant to accept long-term care insurance and other types of payment assistance.
With Always Best Care's home care services, seniors and their families have a greater level of control over their care plans. In-home care gives seniors the chance to form a bond with a trusted caregiver and also receive unmatched care that is catered to their needs. In long-term care facilities, seniors and their loved ones have much less control over their care plan and have less of a say in who provides their care.
In-home care is a valuable resource that empowers seniors to age in place on their own terms. However, a big concern for many families and their loved ones is how much in-home care costs. If you're worried that in-home care is too expensive, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is one of the most affordable senior care arrangements available.
Typically, hiring an Always Best Care in-home caregiver for a few hours a week is more affordable than sending your loved one to a long-term care facility. This is true even for seniors with more complex care needs.
At Always Best Care, we will work closely with you and your family to develop a Care Plan that not only meets your care needs, but your budget requirements, too. Once we discover the level of care that you or your senior need, we develop an in-home care plan that you can afford.
In addition to our flexible care options, families should also consider the following resources to help offset potential home care costs:
When you or your senior loved one needs assistance managing daily tasks at home, finding a qualified caregiver can be challenging. It takes a special kind of person to provide reliable care for your senior loved one. However, a caregiver's role involves more than meal preparation and medication reminders. Many seniors rely on their caregivers for companionship, too.
Our companion care services give seniors the chance to socialize in a safe environment and engage in activities at home. These important efforts boost morale and provide much-needed relief from repetitive daily routines. A one-on-one, engaging conversation can sharpen seniors' minds and give them something in which to be excited.
At Always Best Care, we only hire care providers that we would trust to care for our own loved ones. Our senior caregivers in Brooklyn, IA understand how important it is to listen and communicate with their seniors. A seemingly small interaction, like a short hug goodbye, can make a major difference in a senior's day. Instead of battling against feelings of isolation, seniors begin to look forward to seeing their caregiver each week.
Understanding the nuances of senior care is just one of the reasons why our care providers are so great at their job.
Unlike some senior care companies, our caregivers must undergo extensive training before they work for Always Best Care. In addition, our caregivers receive ongoing training throughout the year. This training ensures that their standard of care matches up to the high standards we've come to expect. During this training, they will brush up on their communication skills, safety awareness, and symptom spotting. That way, your loved one receives the highest level of non-medical home care from day one.
While it's true that many seniors prefer to age at home, sometimes in-home care isn't the best fit. For those seniors and their families, choosing an assisted living facility makes more sense. Unfortunately, finding the optimal care facility is easier said than done in today's day and age. That's when Always Best Care's assisted living referral services begin to make a lot of sense.
Assisted living is a form of housing intended for seniors who require varying degrees of medical and personal attention. Accommodations may include single rooms, apartments, or shared living arrangements. Assisted living communities are typically designed to resemble a home-like environment and are physically constructed to encourage the independence of residents.
At assisted living communities, seniors receive help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating. They may also benefit from coordination of services with outside healthcare providers, and monitoring of resident activities to ensure their health, safety, and well-being. Caregivers who work at assisted living communities can also provide medication administration and personal care services for older adults.
Other services offered within assisted living communities can include some or all of the following:
At Always Best Care, our representatives can match your senior's emotional, physical, and financial needs with viable assisted living communities nearby. Results are based on comparative data, so you can select the best choice for you or your loved one.
Always Best Care works closely with local senior living communities to gain valuable knowledge that we then use to help seniors and their loved ones make informed decisions. This information can include basic care and rent, resident availability, and services provided. Because Always Best Care is compensated by these communities, we provide senior living referral services at no extra cost to you.
Some of the most popular assisted living communities to consider in our area include the following:
For many seniors, moving into a senior living community revolves around how and when they want to make a transition to more involved care. Some seniors are more proactive about transitioning to independent living. Others choose to remain home until their care needs or other requirements are satisfied. Remember - our staff is here to help. Contact our office today to learn more about assisted living communities and how we can find a facility that exceeds your expectations.
The first step in getting quality in-home care starts with a personal consultation with an experienced Always Best Care Care Coordinator. This initial consultation is crucial for our team to learn more about you or your elderly loved one to discover the level of care required. Topics of this consultation typically include:
A discussion of your needs and how our trained caregivers can offer assistance in the most effective way
A draft of your care plan, which includes highly detailed notes and a framework for the care that you or your senior will receive
Discuss payment options and help coordinate billing with your insurance provider
Our caregivers are trained to spot changes that clients exhibit, like mental and physical decline. As your trusted senior care company, we will constantly assess and update your Care Plan to meet any new emotional, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.
If you have never considered in-home care before, we understand that you and your family may have concerns about your Care Plan and its Care Coordinator. To help give you peace of mind, know that every team member and caregiver must undergo comprehensive training before being assigned to a Care Plan.
At the end of the day, we only hire the best of the best at Always Best Care. Whether you need home care in Brooklyn, IA 24-hours a day or only need a respite for a couple of hours, we are here to serve you.
When you're ready, we encourage you to contact your local Always Best Care representative to set up a Care Consultation. Our Care Coordinators would be happy to meet with you in person to get to know you better, discuss your needs, and help put together a personalized Care Plan specific to your needs.
AMES, Iowa — Audi Crooks is still in the Big 12. Milan Momcilovic is wearing Kentucky blue. Joshua Jefferson is in Brooklyn.For Iowa State basketball fans, following last season’s familiar faces will require more than watching the Cyclones.Both programs enter the 2026-27 season with major changes after NCAA Tournament appearances. The men finished 29-8 and reached the Sweet 16. The women went 22-10 before losing to Syracuse in the first round.Now, the players who helped produce those seasons are scattered acr...
AMES, Iowa — Audi Crooks is still in the Big 12. Milan Momcilovic is wearing Kentucky blue. Joshua Jefferson is in Brooklyn.
For Iowa State basketball fans, following last season’s familiar faces will require more than watching the Cyclones.
Both programs enter the 2026-27 season with major changes after NCAA Tournament appearances. The men finished 29-8 and reached the Sweet 16. The women went 22-10 before losing to Syracuse in the first round.
Now, the players who helped produce those seasons are scattered across college basketball and the professional ranks, while a new group prepares to make its mark at Hilton Coliseum.
Momcilovic’s next stop is Kentucky, where the sharpshooting forward will play for coach Mark Pope after withdrawing from the NBA draft. He averaged 16.9 points last season, shot 48.7% from 3-point range and made a school-record 136 threes.
His move comes with an interesting March connection: Momcilovic helped Iowa State eliminate Kentucky in the second round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.
Jefferson took the professional route. Minnesota selected him with the No. 28 pick in the NBA draft before he landed with Brooklyn in a draft-night deal. The former Cyclone forward has joined a Nets roster that gives Iowa State fans another NBA team to follow.
Other departures came with less attention. Former Waukee Northwest guard Cade Kelderman transferred to South Dakota. Mason Williams, who did not play in a game during his season at Iowa State, moved to Seattle University. Dominick Nelson returned to Utah Valley, where he had been the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year before coming to Ames.
Nate Heise and Eric Mulder completed their Iowa State playing careers. Both were among the university’s spring and summer graduates.
One player who appeared headed out is back.
Ames native Tamin Lipsey returned to Iowa State’s roster in September after a court ruling allowed an additional season. Lipsey had played for Indiana’s NBA Summer League team after going undrafted. His return gives coach T.J. Otzelberger an experienced point guard and the program’s career steals leader.
Blake Buchanan, Jamarion Batemon, Dominykas Pleta, Killyan Toure, Xzavion Mitchell and Anthony Rise also return. Toure’s availability is a major early-season concern: Shoulder surgery is expected to keep him sidelined until January.
Otzelberger added five transfers: Leon Bond III from Northern Iowa, Jaquan Johnson from Bradley, Taj Manning from Kansas State, Ryan Prather Jr. from Robert Morris and Tre Singleton from Northwestern. Freshmen Yusef Gray Jr., Christian Wiggins and Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan round out the newcomers.
The women’s changes reach even deeper.
Crooks, the former Bishop Garrigan star from Algona, transferred to Oklahoma State. That keeps one of the country’s most productive scorers inside Iowa State’s conference. She averaged 25.8 points last season and left Ames with 2,256 career points, second in program history.
She is one of nine players who transferred from last season’s women’s roster.
Addy Brown is at UCLA. Point guard Jada Williams moved to LSU. Kenzie Hare and Alisa Williams both joined Indiana.
Reese Beaty transferred to Mississippi State, Lilly Taulelei to Rice and Reagan Wilson to Toledo. Former Johnston standout Aili Tanke is now at Nevada.
Sydney Harris completed her Iowa State career and earned her degree in psychology.
Only three players from last season’s women’s roster return: former Des Moines Roosevelt guard Arianna Jackson, Evangelia Paulk and Freya Jensen. They provide the continuity on a 13-player roster with 10 newcomers.
The new group includes transfers Mya Babbitt, Alex-Anne Bessette, Ashleigh Connor, Gift Ezekiel, Emilija “Mills” Dakic and Sienna Harvey. Babbitt brings outside shooting from Kent State, while Bessette arrives from Loyola Chicago.
There are new Iowa connections, too. Macy Comito joins the Cyclones from Carlisle, and Reggi Spotts arrives from North Iowa Area Community College after playing at Mason City High School.
Freshman Tjaša Turnšek of Slovenia and 6-foot-6 center Xiao “Smyle” Zhang of China add an international presence. Zhang is the first player from China in program history.
The roster overhaul also comes at a milestone for the program. Bill Fennelly announced that 2026-27 will be his final season as Iowa State’s head coach.
For Cyclone fans, the season offers two stories to follow: what familiar players accomplish in their new homes, and who emerges to lead the next chapter in Ames.
As American politicians and industries look to bring manufacturing to U.S. soil, Iowa State University researchers and their partners are working to scale a method of carbon fiber development using cheap, readily available materials.ISU mechanical engineering professor and Bioeconomy Institute associate director Xianglan Bai, joined by other bioeconomy institute leaders and researchers, has received a four-year, $2 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to bring carbon fiber made from waste products from the lab to co...
As American politicians and industries look to bring manufacturing to U.S. soil, Iowa State University researchers and their partners are working to scale a method of carbon fiber development using cheap, readily available materials.
ISU mechanical engineering professor and Bioeconomy Institute associate director Xianglan Bai, joined by other bioeconomy institute leaders and researchers, has received a four-year, $2 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to bring carbon fiber made from waste products from the lab to commercial markets.
The study into bio-based carbon fiber began more than 60 years ago by Japanese researchers, Bai said, and her own work in the area has spanned more than a decade. However, new methods of development established by Bai’s team and the addition of bio-oil from a different ISU-connected group is allowing the researchers to create high-quality carbon fiber at a lower cost.
“Everyone knows carbon fiber is a good material, but a lot of people cannot use it because the cost is too high,” Bai said. “If we can offer very cheap carbon fiber and enlarged production, then people will adopt carbon fiber in the application that originally they couldn’t dare to use the stuff.”
Softwood kraft lignin — a component of plants that waterproofs cell walls and keeps them strong — is good for protecting the plants against environmental damage, Bai said. It’s not as useful for product applications despite its high carbon content, she said, because it’s difficult to break down. It’s also a byproduct of the paper and pulp industry, used as boiler fluid to recover chemicals from pulp.
This is the polymer that Bai, and others, have focused on in their research when it comes to carbon fiber production. She said her team needed to “bridge the chemistry and the material science,” and did so in one way through “thermo-mechanochemistry,” where they heat lignin and put it under tension to cause changes in its material structure.
Bai said there are several patents or patent-pending projects that have come from her team’s study of lignin carbon fiber development. Another component unique to ISU’s work is a type of bio-oil also patented by ISU and developed by Rise Energy, an Ames-based startup company run by leaders in the university’s bioeconomy institute.
“Right now, we are trying to create the carbon fiber that is lower than $5 per pound, because … our precursors are all bio-based and all the byproducts are low cost, and the byproducts basically have very limited use, and then our process is also very simple,” Bai said.
Rise Energy co-founder and bioeconomy institute engineer and faculty member Tannon Daugaard said his company takes waste from agriculture and other areas and converts it into bio-oil and bio-char, which can act as a fertilizer. The addition of bio-oil to the lignin shortens the time it needs to stabilize, and now the team is trying to figure out if any feedstock can work for the bio-oil they’re using or if specific kinds must be used.
Carbon fiber has applications in all kinds of industries, the researchers said, from agriculture to automotive, aerospace and infrastructure. Both Bai and Daugaard say they hope that by the end of the grant period, they’ll have the resources to establish manufacturing plants for bio-oil and bio-based carbon fiber production.
“Much like the Bioeconomy Institute has that collaboration, that network, all of those sources exist in Iowa, right, so it’s the feedstock to the final use of the product and the manufacturing along the way,” Daugaard said. “So we want to have that infrastructure here in Iowa.”
While in-state infrastructure is Daugaard’s hope, other partners in the project also hope to bring those kinds of benefits to their own states. Latis Materials, an advanced materials manufacturing company in Maine, is acting as “industry adviser” to the ISU team and is focused on customer and funding research, as well as figuring out the details of scaling the new carbon fiber production.
Will Salisbury, co-founder of Latis Materials and co-principal investigator for the grant-funded project, said his company is working to reproduce what the ISU researchers developed to gather scalable data and use it to develop a full-scale, continuous system for carbon fiber production.
Companies in the fields of agriculture, fuel storage and outdoor products have expressed interest in the new type of carbon fiber, Salisbury said, and his goal is to generate enough material for them to use in prototype parts. He hopes they would then sign a contract to buy a certain amount of the material, giving them a stronger start in getting financed to build a real factory.
“I think it has huge potential, you know, bringing jobs back into forested communities like Maine, like where we are, but also in the Pacific Northwest and in the Southeast, and even into Canada and northern Europe too,” Salisbury said.
The project will take place over Summer 2027 and will address the bridge’s significant deterioration.Beginning this spring, Iowa City will make significant repairs to the Riverside Drive Pedestrian Bridge on Riverside Drive and Iowa Avenue.Alin Dumachi, the project engineer for the rehabilitation, recognizes the bridge as a critical piece of infrastructure in Iowa City.“The bridge has long provided a convenient way for students, faculty, staff, and others to travel between downtown Iowa City and the Un...
The project will take place over Summer 2027 and will address the bridge’s significant deterioration.
Beginning this spring, Iowa City will make significant repairs to the Riverside Drive Pedestrian Bridge on Riverside Drive and Iowa Avenue.
Alin Dumachi, the project engineer for the rehabilitation, recognizes the bridge as a critical piece of infrastructure in Iowa City.
“The bridge has long provided a convenient way for students, faculty, staff, and others to travel between downtown Iowa City and the University of Iowa medical campus,” Dumachi said.
The project will take place during summer 2027 and is projected to cost around $1.4 million. The cost of the project will be split between the UI, the city of Iowa City, and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Repairs for the bridge have been long underway. The plan was hatched in 2022, but received no successful bids at its 2024 bid-letting. The project was brought back to the Iowa City City Council’s attention in mid-September, and the council voted unanimously to continue the project.
On Oct.12, the project received four bids from several locations in the Midwest. The city accepted a bid of over $1.9 million from Minturn Inc.
Minturn Inc. is a professional construction service firm based in Brooklyn, Iowa.
Several council members are excited to make progress on the bridge’s improvement, including Iowa City City Councilor Laura Bergus.
“It will be very good to address a bridge that is so visibly deteriorating,” Bergus said.
To accommodate the project, the bridge and several roads around it will be closed or restricted. Riverside Drive will be reduced to one driving lane, and Iowa Avenue and Newton Road will be closed at Riverside Drive.
The pedestrian bridge will be completely closed for the duration of the project.
The decision to improve the bridge comes in response to a 2019 inspection stating that the bridge, which was built in the 1960’s, had severe structural issues and needed to be repaired. Dumachi said there were many issues that the project would address.
He said the bridge’s concrete structure is deteriorating and its lighting and railings also need repairs. Additionally, the project will attempt to make parts of the bridge more accessible to residents with disabilities.
To remedy these problems, the project has three parts: repairing the bridge’s concrete structure, improving sidewalk accessibility, and replacing the railings and lighting to improve the bridge’s aesthetic appeal.
Dumachi stressed that despite the rehabilitation’s efforts to improve the bridge’s sidewalks, the repair unfortunately won’t make the whole bridge compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act’s standards. The main focus of sidewalk repair is to improve the conditions of the sidewalk connecting to the Iowa River Trail, not the bridge in its entirety.
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(Iowa Capital Dispatch) University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook has announced his upcoming retirement as the institution celebrates record-breaking fundraising and 150 years in existence.The Cedar Falls university president, who began his tenure in February 2017, shared with the UNI community Friday morning his intentions to retire at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year with the commitment to stay at UNI until his successor arrives.Nook said in a news release from the institution that serving UNI and the state has be...
(Iowa Capital Dispatch) University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook has announced his upcoming retirement as the institution celebrates record-breaking fundraising and 150 years in existence.
The Cedar Falls university president, who began his tenure in February 2017, shared with the UNI community Friday morning his intentions to retire at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year with the commitment to stay at UNI until his successor arrives.
Nook said in a news release from the institution that serving UNI and the state has been “one of the greatest privileges” of he and his wife, Cheryl’s, lives.
“In many ways we feel like most of our soon-to-be UNI graduates as they enter their final semester. We are about to leave a place where we have built so many wonderful relationships, a place we love, a place — we call home,” Nook said in the release. “We truly appreciate the care and support the Panther Family has shown us and are proud to be a small part of the UNI legacy of helping our students, alumni, and colleagues enrich lives, communities and the world.”
In the weeks of the fall semester preceding Nook’s retirement announcement, UNI students, staff and faculty celebrated the institution’s 150th anniversary and closed out a fundraising campaign totaling more than $342 million. UNI was also the only state university this year to see higher enrollment of first-year students than in 2025, the total of 1,709 also the highest since Nook’s first year on campus in 2017.
Former board of regents member and UNI Our Tomorrow fundraising campaign co-chair Katie Mulholland said in the release that the UNI community is “indebted to President Nook for helping make a special place even stronger during his tenure.”
Iowa Board of Regents President Robert Cramer said in the release that UNI has evolved its academic offerings to meet workforce needs and has established an “innovative partnership” for placebound students with community colleges.
“The University of Northern Iowa is truly thriving,” Cramer said in the release. “Our state is exceedingly grateful to President Nook and the UNI community for positively impacting so many Iowa families and communities.”
University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook announced on Friday his plan to retire at the end of the academic year. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
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