Niesen Appointed to WP City Council

The West Plains City Council has chosen John Niesen as its newest member. Niesen was chosen from a pool of five candidates to fill a seat on the council that was vacated after the April retirement of Mayor Jack Pahlman.

Niesen, 36, has lived most of his life in West Plains, and was raised in Willow Springs. He works as a program director at Air Evac, while serving on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club, West Plains Country Club and the West Plains Waves swim team. John and his wife, Tianna, have three children.

Niesen let the public know of his desire to serve on the West Plains City Council by running for the office. He was edged out of the seat by a difference of only five votes. Now that Niesen is on the council, he says he is most excited about long term planning for the city.

“I want to help build a plan for success for the next twenty to thirty years,” Niesen told Howell County News. He cites expansion projects at Ozarks Healthcare and new businesses coming into West Plains as exciting opportunities for growth. Niesen says that he would like to see more offerings for families in areas of special events, tourism and activities. One such activity that Niesen is passionate about and helped create is a bike route that now runs through the city. 

Among the challenges that the city faces, Niesen noted the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but remains hopeful that the next year will be a time of recovery and a return to normal, as immunizations increase and restrictions are relaxed. Rebuilding trust with business owners and working together to move forward will be key, Niesen says. As responses to the pandemic and decisions made by city government brought about strong and differing opinions, Niesen says it will be important to build mutual respect to work together. 

Niesen will be sworn in at the next regular council meeting.