PELLA, Iowa—Earlier today at the State of Iowa Downtown conference in Pella the communities selected as Main Street Iowa communities for 2022 were announced. Boone was not selected this year.
Mayor John Slight explains, “While we are disappointed in this news, we are very proud of the efforts of the Boone Chamber staff and the cross section of volunteers that came together to assemble a strong application in a relatively short amount of time. I’m excited to build upon these efforts and encourage all involved to apply again next year.”
A total of five communities applied this year to receive Main Street Iowa designation; only two were selected.
“We wish to extend our gratitude to the City of Boone, the Boone County Supervisors, and the many businesses and individuals that stepped forward to pledge their financial support to the proposed Main Street Iowa program of work for Boone” states Kyle Hanna, President of the Boone Chamber of Commerce.
In the coming weeks a team from the Iowa Downtown Resource Center will visit Boone; meeting with the volunteers and staff who worked on the application. They’ll provide valuable input into the Boone application and share things the community can build on as they look to apply for this designation in the future.
Nate Nerem, President of the Boone County Economic Development Growth stressed, “While I wish that Boone would have been selected for this program, I’m thrilled with how our community came together to raise funds and volunteer to put this application together. We are stronger together and I look forward to what can be done in the coming year to strengthen our downtown and the overall economy of the Boone area.”
People interested in receiving additional information about the Main Street Iowa program or Downtown Boone should contact, Mike Hammond, Executive Director of the Boone Chamber of Commerce at mike@boonecountychamber.com or 515.432.3342.
Albia and Monticello join only 53 other Main Street Iowa communities across the state. IEDA and Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham introduced the two communities at the Iowa Downtown Conference in Pella. Monticello fell short with their first application in 2019. Albia has spent many years restoring historic buildings in their downtown square and is working to move to the next level of development.
(contributed press releases)
