Clarion. (photo courtesy of the Clarion Chamber of Commerce.)
The Wright County community of Clarion is in the process of becoming a sister city to a community in the southeastern European nation of Kosovo.
Clarion Mayor Duane Asbe says the agreement was passed last week by the city council. “We did sign a resolution to pursue a sister city relationship,” Asbe says, “so that would indicate to Kosovo that we are willing and supportive of creating a sister city relationship from our side.”
While Clarion is the county seat, it’s a rural community of only 2,800. Asbe is hoping officials in Kosovo will match them up with a similar-sized town. “There are four or five different sister cities within the state of Iowa, namely, Johnston, Sioux City, Cedar Falls and actually nearby, Fort Dodge, but we would be the first smaller rural community to pursue this process (in Kosovo).”
This past summer, Kosovo’s minister of agriculture visited Clarion and rural areas nearby. The name of the sister city will be announced at a later date. A delegation of Iowans plans to visit Kosovo next spring.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)