It’s that time of year again — time for our readers to vote for their favorite businesses and businesspeople in the Times-Republican coverage area and time for the spirit of friendly competition to reign supreme. It’s time to decide the Best of the Best.

The nomination period officially opens today, April 1, and runs through April 8. Readers can propose businesses, organizations and names for all of the categories, including new categories. This keeps the contest fresh as new businesses and organizations come to the area and as existing ones change and grow.

Voting is conducted entirely online at www.timesrepublican.com, and the biggest change this year is that we are expanding the contest beyond just Marshall County and including the entire coverage area, which covers most of Tama County and the southern half of Grundy County. Voting is limited to one vote in each category per person per day.

We see the billboards and advertisements proudly proclaiming local businesses as “Best of the Best,” and we’re happy to carry on such a storied tradition allowing you, the reader, to have the final say. This contest is fundamentally about celebrating and supporting great area institutions by raising their profile and helping them gain new fans. With daily voting, the contest raises the visibility of those businesses and organizations that use it to reach out to new and existing customers to ask for their support through advertising and through their own channels.

So let’s see those nominations, and let’s prepare ourselves to watch the best local businesses rise to the top. Visit www.timesrepublican.com to submit a nomination and learn more about the contest. This year’s schedule will run as follows.

April 1

Nomination round opens

April 8

Nomination round closes

April 14

Sales open for voting round advertising

May 16

Sales close for voting round advertising

June 4

Voting round announcing nominees opens

June 12

Voting round closes

June 16

Sales open for winners and finalists publication

July 14

Sales close for winners and finalists publication

July 30

Winners and finalists announced in publication and on website

Anyone with questions about the process is encouraged to email best@timesrepublican.com, and business owners can contact T-R Advertising Lead Rhonda James (rjames@timesrepublican.com) to get their 2025 advertising packets.