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As Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg toured Manning on Thursday morning, he talked about a focus on rural Iowa and said he wanted to learn more from the people of Manning on the innovative ways they are working to keep the community of over 1,400 vibrant. One of the key indicators to a rural community’s success is when younger people choose to return home or move there to raise their families. This is occurring with some frequency in Manning, and Gregg was interested in learning more. Main Street member and owner of the Market Place, Jaime England, was raised in Manning and returned with her husband and children several years ago to open the business. Main Street Manning Board President, Jeff Blum, told the Lieutenant Governor he and his wife, Jaimie, have a similar story.
Gregg agreed, saying things often change once people start having kids. He says we need to find a way to communicate with the young people about the benefits of smaller community living versus what they were seeking in their early careers in Omaha, Neb., Des Moines or other urban areas.

Blum says it is not just about the quality of life, but the opportunities that people may not be aware exist in some of Iowa’s smaller communities.
Lt. Gov. Gregg says they are trying to do more to expose students to the possible careers that are available in their own communities. The most recent way they are doing this is through Governor Kim Reynolds’ Future Ready Iowa. The initiative’s goal is to have 70 percent of Iowa’s workforce possessing education or training beyond high school by 2025. They are promoting skills development and training in high-demand areas that include a great many of the businesses and industries that are building and thriving in Iowa’s rural landscape.
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Carroll Broadcasting
Iowa’s Lt. Gov., Adam Gregg, walked into the Market Place in Manning, exclaiming that this looks like Chip and Joanna’s place in Texas. Owner, Jaime England, was one of a contingent of local city leaders that welcomed Gregg to Manning, which he says has been on his list of must-see communities across the state for a while now.
Gregg is on his way to an export awards conference in Sheldon and says he is very interested in learning more about what is happening in Manning. He is excited about the rural Iowa initiative he is leading, and having grown up in a small town, Gregg is passionate about learning the many different ways communities are doing the right things in the right ways.

One of the topics of conversation identified by Mayor, Harvey Dales, and community advocate, Ron Reischl, is the legislative’s discussion of phasing out the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program. Lt. Gov. Gregg says that it seems like every year there is talk about how the TIF process can be reformed and improved.
He adds they want to make sure that communities have these types of resources at their availability to improve, and that TIF is one of those tools in that toolbox. Lt. Gregg was escorted throughout the community on a walking and driving tour to see the historic Main Street, the Hausbarn and the new Trestle Park before he departed for his engagement in Sheldon.
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Carroll Broadcasting
Manning Regional Healthcare Center (MRHC) has announced the graduation of Quality Leader, Jackie Blackwell, from the Iowa Hospital Association’s (IHA) Quality Residency Program. Blackwell participated in 10 learning sessions over the course of two years to bring back to MRHC expertise in quality improvement, utilization of patient safety tools, risk management and patient and family engagement. Blackwell will be recognized for this accomplishment at the IHA Spring Conference in Des Moines, taking place next Tuesday, May 22.

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​For one night only, the IKM-Manning High School auditorium on the Manning campus will be filled with the beat of one of the most recognized percussion groups in Iowa. The University of Iowa PanAmerican Steel Band will perform at 7 p.m. Monday, May 14. The band, that performs regularly across the Midwest, has produced two CDs and has been featured in the annual Percussion Spectacular as well as at events in support of cancer survivors, the American Heart Association, the United Way the Belin-Blank Honors Center, Johnson County’s Sounds of Friendship and many others. Led by Dr. Daniel Moore, who is a professor and associate director in the school of music at the University of Iowa, the drum group plays selections ranging from folk to pop.

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A Manning Regional Healthcare Center (MRHC) nurse was given a pleasant surprise this past Monday when she arrived to find a ceremony being held in her honor. Registered Nurse, Shelby Dickson, was presented with the DAISY Award for her extraordinary efforts in serving MRHC’s patients and their families. Dickson takes a very unique and personal approach to helping patients set and achieve their health improvement goals. She will be attending the DAISY Award ceremony at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines later this summer. The DAISY Award was founded in 1990 by the family of Patrick Barnes, who was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. In his memory, the family wanted to find a way to show how much they appreciated the care Patrick and the rest of their family received from the nursing staff. Since that time, more than 2,000 healthcare facilities worldwide have recognized their nurses with the DAISY Award.