Today we attended the annual conference of the 1,000 Friends of Iowa held in Iowa City.
1000 Friends of Iowa promotes responsible development that 1) conserves and protects our agricultural and natural resources, 2) revitalizes our neighborhoods, towns and cities, and 3) improves the quality of life for future generations. We learned about prospects for increased rail service and economic development around transit stations, particularly the Iowa City to Chicago and Iowa City to Omaha via Des Moines, and a corridor between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. In addition, we learned about the tribulations surrounding closing of neighborhood schools and building new schools out in vacant land outside of town.
Linda was asked to give the keynote address. As usual, she was well-received and invited for a couple more speaking engagements for other groups. As for myself, I made some great contacts for an upcoming project I’ll talk more about later!
We spent the night before at a farm south of Iowa City (actually closer to the birthplace of Captain James Kirk – Riverside, Iowa) with some friends who recently moved from Marshalltown. They have a charming old farmhouse and land along the Iowa River, have planted native prairie and trees, along with lots of garden space. It was a wonderful 25 hours away from the farm.