Two Wisconsin communities enter to win HGTV’s ‘Home Town’ takeover competition

Teams from both communities submitted videos showcasing why they deserve to win a makeover on national television

Jamie Perez by Jamie Perez

COLUMBUS, MONTELLO, Wis. –Montello and Columbus are small town Wisconsin gems, but there are parts of each place that are rusty, dated and in need of some repairs.

Teams of people from both communities have worked to put together video submissions to send to HGTV to enter its new ‘Hometown’ takeover competition.

Steve Starke, who owns Oyster Crackers in downtown Montello, has lived in Montello for the past 30 years. Starke considers himself a proud resident who hopes his community’s video submission wins HGTV’s competition to be able “to get people excited about their community, get them excited about their downtown area.”

Beth Reanee, who stars in Columbus’s video submission for the competition, is proud to call Columbus home and believes her community could win the competition.

“Columbus stands out in this competition,” Reanee said. “We are going somewhere. There is a vibe in the town. People are passionate. We have a lot of things happening. This is just going to add to our growth possibility. ”

For both Starke and Reanee, Montello and Columbus have provided everything they’ve needed for decades. Both are hoping to get the opportunity to give back to the community in the same way it’s give to them for so many years.

Both said that winning the makeover would help increase tourism, boost the local economy and amp up hometown pride.

Starke said Montello is full of “Good families, good people. I know everybody deserves it. But I’m right in the middle of something really cool here.”

Reanee is confident that no matter what happens, “We are really excited and we really want to see Columbus prosper. We just feel the community is something special.”

HGTV staff members are currently reviewing video submissions from around the country. When they pick a winner, filming for the TV series will start in 2021.

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