(File photo) Members of the Estherville National Guard unit were deployed last July. Estherville will serve as one of five welcome home ceremony sites on Friday.

After nearly a year on a peacekeeping mission to Kosovo, local soldiers are scheduled to come home Friday.

With several local members of the military set to return to the area, parents, husbands, wives and children of soldiers are looking forward to having their loved ones home again.

Locals serving with Battery A and Battery B, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery based out of Estherville and Algona were mobilized as part of a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. They were deployed in June and July of 2007.

"What we want to accomplish in the welcome home ceremonies is to make sure they understand how much they mean to Iowans," said Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, Public Affairs Officer for the Iowa National Guard. "We want them to know how much people in our communities care about them."

Although the exact return times were not confirmed by officials as of press time, families of soldiers reported that welcome ceremonies are tenatively being held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, July 11 at the football field in Estherville and 2:30 p.m. at the Algona High School for those returning home.

Those choosing to return to Storm Lake will be welcomed at the middle school and those returning to Ft. Dodge will be at the Harland Rodgers Sports Complex.

Ceremonies are expected to be brief in order to reunite soldiers with their loved ones as soon as possible.

According to Lt. Col. Hapgood, approximately 75 men and women will be welcomed home in Estherville and 60 soldiers are to be greeted in Algona.

Families of soldiers and other volunteers have decorated the Lakes area in preparation for their return.

Times, dates and locations of welcome ceremonies are all subject to change.

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TWO AREA 'WELCOME HOME' CEREMONIES

Estherville -- Battery A, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery (approximately 75 Soldiers). The homecoming ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m., at the Estherville Lincoln Central High School Football Stadium, 1520 Central Ave., Estherville. The buses will travel through Pocahontas, they will turn right (North) onto Highway 4. They will turn west on Highway 4/18, traveling west to Highway 4 North, where they will make a right turn, heading north. They will turn left on S. 1st St., continuing to Central Ave., taking a right turn (east) onto Central Ave. (Main St.) turning south onto South 18th St. to 7th Ave., coming in behind the Armory. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will take place in the Iowa National Guard Armory, 403 South 18th St., Estherville.

Storm Lake -- Company G, 334th Brigade Support Battalion (approximately 30 Soldiers). The homecoming ceremony will be held at 10 a.m., at the Storm Lake Middle School Gym, 1811 Hyland Dr., Storm Lake. The bus will proceed north on U.S. Highway 71 to the junction of (Business) U.S. Highway 71N/Highway 7W, heading west through Storm Lake. This highway curves north and becomes Flindt Drive. Turning right, Flindt Drive becomes E. Milwaukee St. They will continue west on Highway 7W (W. Milwaukee St.), to the junction of Highway 7W and Highway 110S (Abner Bell Road). After traveling south on Highway 110S, they will turn left onto Hyland Ave., to Storm Lake Middle School.

Additional ceremonies are being held in:

Algona, Peosta and Fort Dodge.