Former Postmaster Appointed as New Ward 3 City Councilor

Bill Holmstrom, who formerly served as the postmaster for Hampton, was appointed as the new Ward 3 City Councilor during last Thursday’s city council meeting. 

The appointment came after the recent resignation of Kevin Blanford.

The motion to appoint him was made by Councilor Barry Lamos and seconded by Councilor Bill Hodge. Affirmative roll call votes were cast by Lamos, Hodge and Davies, with Palmer and Grefe dissenting. Holmstrom will serve until the canvassing of the November 2025 election.

After he was appointed to the council, he was immediately sworn in by Mayor Steve Birdsall and sat down at the designated chair for the Ward 3 position. At the end of the meeting, he said the following: "First I would like to thank the mayor and council for this honor of representing Ward 3, and most importantly I want to thank my fellow candidates that went through this process with me. It's no fun to do something like this alone, and it was great to have you alongside, together, as we went through this process. I should tell you a little secret. I doubt if you realize that I pray for you guys every night, that at, not only at the local level, but (for) the state and federal leaders that we have. I always ask that, and pray that, wisdom will be provided to the leaders, and that all their decisions will be pleasing in God's sight. And I guess that I'm asking you, and the citizens of Ward 3, to pray for me too, that any decisions that I make are the right decisions, and good for the citizens of Hampton and Ward 3. Thank you."

City Councilor Holmstrom moved to Hampton for a job as the USPS postmaster in 2000 with his wife, Sheree. The two met in their hometown of Fort Dodge years ago, before getting married in 1973. They have two daughters, Erin and Lauren, and four grandchildren — and they’re expecting their first great grandchild in July.

Holmstrom had a variety of jobs over the years, working in a number of cities, but he spent the majority of his career with the U.S. Postal Service. He got his start at a post office in Fort Dodge, where he worked his way up to city carrier. He would go on to work as the postmaster in Farnhamville — his first gig as a postmaster — before returning to Fort Dodge, taking a job as a superintendent. He took similar roles in other cities, including Greenfield, Winters and Atlantic, before finally making his way to Hampton in 2000. 

As the postmaster in Hampton, he oversaw the entire operation, from the custodians to the carriers. A big part of his job was dealing with customers, he said. In 2010, he took the postmaster position in Sheffield, which eventually merged with Rockwell, Swaledale and Thornton. He finally left for a job with HyVee until he ended up retiring in 2020.  He joked that he started with a job at Hyvee and retired while at HyVee — both times on his birthday. 

Holmstrom said he’s eager to do his part for the community through his new role as city councilor, and that from the looks of it, the city is currently in good shape. 

“I just want to contribute to the betterment of Hampton,” he said. “It’s been a great city.” 

Holmstrom was one of four candidates to be interviewed by city council earlier in the week, during the Monday night workshop. 

County Supervisor Dick Lukensmeyer advocated for the appointment of Holmstrom during the public comment portion of the March 27 meeting. After the meeting, Lukensmeyer told the Chronicle that he thought all four candidates had made good points, but that he was most impressed with Holmstrom’s understanding of finances and his ability to work with the public. 

“Right now, with the restraints we’re going to be seeing from the state on our budgets, we need someone who’s had a lot of business experience,” Lukensmeyer said. “We’ve got a lot of hard choices to make. Sometimes the choices don’t align with what some people want, so you have to do your research, and make the best decision for the community, and I think Bill can do that.”