Ventura, IA

Ventura is a Cerro Gordo County city on the northeastern basin of Clear Lake, with the lake and Ventura Marsh shaping the eastern edge of town. The city's history reaches back to Meskwaki camps in the area and the railroad that later brought settlers, freight, and a permanent town map. Ventura Community School District eventually joined Garner–Hayfield to form the Garner–Hayfield–Ventura district in 2015. Today the roads, marsh, school, and lakeshore fit together in a compact place north of Mason City. Ventura is a small Iowa city whose identity comes from the water beside it and the rail line that first tied it to the wider county.