Five Iowa communities are being picked to take part in what’s known as the First Impressions program, which is designed to strengthen tourism, attract new residents and cultivate a community’s quality of life. Diane Van Wyngarden is a state tourism specialist with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, which helped to develop the program, now in its second year, focused on towns with ten-thousand or fewer residents.
The first communities for the program’s opening year were Corning and Maquoketa. Van Wyngarden says this year’s five communities are: Independence, Manning, Perry, Washington and Webster City.
The assessors will also be looking for things like agritourism opportunities. Later this year, each community will get a 90-page report on the findings during a town hall meeting.
Learn more about the program at www.extension.iastate.edu/communities/firstimpressions.
